Massage - Still Life

„Das vielleicht schönste Janglepop Album des Jahres.“

(Oliver)

Das aus Los Angeles stammende Quintett Massage besteht aus Alex Naidus (Gesang, Gitarre), Andrew Romano (Gesang, Gitarre), Gabrielle Ferrer (Gesang, Keyboards), David Rager (Bass) und Natalie de Almeida (Schlagzeug). Ersterer ist bekannt als Bassist von The Pains Of Being Pure At Heart.

Nach „Oh Boy“ (2018) ist „Still Life“ das zweite Album der Indie-Gitarrenpop-Band, für das gern Vergleiche zu The Feelies, The Go-Betweens, The Jesus & Mary Chain, The Cure, The Replacements und The Field Mice gezogen werden. 

Die zwölf Songs sind als Download und LP (black Vinyl, Bone Coloured Vinyl, Coke Bottle Green Vinyl) erhältlich. 

 

Initially, tracks such as Made of Moods, In Gray & Blue and Michael is My Girlfriend lead a new sound that moves towards the Quivers vibe of adding layers of modern jangle, traditional The Go Betweens indie-pop and just the slightest of folk-pop tinges. The juxtaposition of these provide a sound that moves away from any sense of fey and goes directly towards the perfect assured confidence of a band who appear to have instinctively located what they do best.

This stronger feel can also be seen in Half A Feeling, Sticks and Stones and 10 & 2, which feel slighter more dense in atmosphere and tone. It is almost as if the band have jumped into the space between where post-punk finshed and jangle-pop started. With hints of both styles coursing through the melodies, it is only the slightest application of gaze sensibilities, that prevent the sound being perfectly Dunedin in texture.

(Janglepophub)