T0W3RS
IF 4LL WE H4VE IS T1ME
Indie pop/rock
With classes winding down, graduation impending and the sun
constantly shining, summer is just out of reach. These three months of
freedom generally yield limited obligations and provide days of infinite
adventures. With summer, it seems all we have to be preoccupied with is
time and how to best let it pass.
On “Scout/,” there’s something fleeting about the way leader Derek Torres’ vocals seem to float through waves of somber instrumentation and find a way to grab the listener. In a similar vein to the fading of the season, the song effortlessly dissolves into the next track, “The Cardinal/The Finch.”
Whether it’s the members’ layered vocals, Karen Blanco’s poignant keys or the nearly perfect transitions between songs, Towers finds a way to capture meaningful experiences in just a few minutes.
But the back-and-forth pacing of the album might leave the listener with some residual whiplash, as songs jump from just longer than one minute to nearly five. The album is imbalanced in that respect, but even this is partially excusable considering the already wavering and unchained nature of the songs.
In the end, this is the music that accompanies sticky summer evening drives, when the windows are rolled down and your hair has taken its own course blowing in the wind. Or perhaps this is the album that best reflects the transient period of life that young 20-somethings have a hard time escaping and/or comprehending.
With relevant and personal songs (not to mention well-crafted), Towers are endearingly empathetic to these notions. This summer, whateverbecomes for you, let it be known that you can find someone who knows exactly how you feel.
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Lilac Shadows
Shallow Madness EP
Psych pop
Bright. Dark. Quiet. Loud.
The band is led by Sam Logan and rounded out by Derek Torres, Karen Blanco and Annuals’ Zack Oden. Considered the sister band of fellow locals T0W3RS, Lilac Shadows strays away from the more bubbling synth of the latter, injecting a little bit of darkness into the musical realm. Shallow Madness requires intense broodingas it provokes, reaches deep and remains difficult to sum up.
With each of its four songs stretching to at least five minutes, the soundscapes Shadows paints are lush and intricate, a combination of psychedelic-pop crescendos and gentle waves of synth. The soundtrack of twisted whimsical fairytale, this record loops and sharply changes course time again, washing over the airwaves with an innocuous, enchanting haze.
The genre-bending song “A Shallow Madness” delicately launches the album, as Logan’s vocals are gently accompanied by soft and bouncing synth. But it’s when the growing sound transitions to “What Dreams” that the listener becomes fully engulfed.
Full of eerie guitar and pensive pauses, it’s this song that invites us to crawl under the rippled blanket of sound the band has orchestrated. Once hooked, there isn’t any turning back.
Shallow Madness can require some time as each track is initially quite a labor. But although Shallow Madness is loosely defined, it doesn’t completely lack cohesion. There’s no doubt this is one multitude of musical layering that’s not for the background.
It’s the tasteful nuances and labored listening that make an album that flourishes and rewards with anticipation of what’s to come. Choose this darkly-tinged elixir of a record and prepare to find out exactly what lurks behind the shadows.
