MONDAY AUG 28, 2017
Breathers
Breathers challenge perceptions of synth-pop on their new album Designed to Break. Each song is a refreshingly honest dive into the modern human psyche balanced with vibrant synth lines that capture the imagination and drip like dew into our parched subconscious. Despite the pop moniker, Breathers defy categorization, drawing inspiration from the Sophisti-pop movement and the cryptic poetry of Steely Dan. Even the album title is multi-faceted, referencing both the analog gear that Breathers use to craft their sound and the disposable nature of modern technology.
Over the past few years, Breathers have laid the groundwork for Designed to Break with a series of insightful tracks featuring T. Lee Gunselman and Jake Thomson on synths and vocals, with Mike Netland providing live drums and sequencing. The result is a danceable mix of organic and synthetic sounds that warp traditional song structures into something subversive yet enticing. Throughout this album, lead singer and lyricist Gunselman offers thoughtful observations on isolation and anxiety, focusing on the corresponding weaknesses and strengths of the human spirit, and the importance of listening to oneself apart from the cacophony of an increasingly commercialized world. Each topic is couched in a comforting sensitivity which plays off the spacious chords and delicate melodies of Designed to Break.
Both sunny and cerebral, there’s an intangible generosity in the way Gunselman expounds on society and culture while the band weave jazz-influenced chords into Mediterranean hues. On Designed to Break, Breathers have jettisoned everything that doesn't shimmer and fused what remains into a rejuvenating cosmic polyphony. Never has a synth record felt so intrinsically human. Designed to Break is out 9/12 on LP/Digital via Irrelevant Music.
Breathers challenge perceptions of synth-pop on their new album Designed to Break. Each song is a refreshingly honest dive into the modern human psyche balanced with vibrant synth lines that capture the imagination and drip like dew into our parched subconscious. Despite the pop moniker, Breathers defy categorization, drawing inspiration from the Sophisti-pop movement and the cryptic poetry of Steely Dan. Even the album title is multi-faceted, referencing both the analog gear that Breathers use to craft their sound and the disposable nature of modern technology.
Over the past few years, Breathers have laid the groundwork for Designed to Break with a series of insightful tracks featuring T. Lee Gunselman and Jake Thomson on synths and vocals, with Mike Netland providing live drums and sequencing. The result is a danceable mix of organic and synthetic sounds that warp traditional song structures into something subversive yet enticing. Throughout this album, lead singer and lyricist Gunselman offers thoughtful observations on isolation and anxiety, focusing on the corresponding weaknesses and strengths of the human spirit, and the importance of listening to oneself apart from the cacophony of an increasingly commercialized world. Each topic is couched in a comforting sensitivity which plays off the spacious chords and delicate melodies of Designed to Break.
Both sunny and cerebral, there’s an intangible generosity in the way Gunselman expounds on society and culture while the band weave jazz-influenced chords into Mediterranean hues. On Designed to Break, Breathers have jettisoned everything that doesn't shimmer and fused what remains into a rejuvenating cosmic polyphony. Never has a synth record felt so intrinsically human. Designed to Break is out 9/12 on LP/Digital via Irrelevant Music.
OCHI
The Pleasure Point
"Ask vocalist JayCub Lake (Muuy Biien) when the Pleasure Point was conceived and he’ll obliquely tell you the group has always existed in some “shape or form.” But while that may possibly be true in the abstract philosophical sense, the reality is the trio morphed out of the experimental Athens group CottonMouth whose last release was the 2014 hr ep. Since then, Lake and his Pleasure Point cohorts, bassist Bobbie Rapp (Material Girls) and DJ EA Shorts, have moved to Atlanta and started concocting a hazed-out hybrid of murky hip-hop, smooth funk, contorted pop and whatever else the threesome have discovered swirling around their proverbial kitchen sink. Give a listen to “half-way,” the first single from the trio’s upcoming American Singles, and there’s quite a bit to unpack, a cavalcade of reference points to explore if you so choose (check out that sly slice of West Coast G-funk the follows the chorus). But mostly you’ll discover a steady flow of woozy beats and narcotic grooves that expand, contract, and then dissipate like so much blunt smoke. At times, it’s difficult to decipher whether the group is just goofing on their own version of seductive, late-night R&B, or if everyone is just really faded and reveling in the moment. Truth be told, I’m not sure it matters. Either way, it’s is a spellbinding listen, perfect for early morning smoke sessions or aimless midnight drives. As for the Pleasure Point, it will be interesting to see how the project develops and evolves in 2018. There is the new record to look forward to, of course, and a couple of release shows, but look beyond that and things get a little cryptic, not unlike their music. “we plan to perform!” Lake exclaims over email about the trio’s future plans. “we plan to make u shake ur butts! we hope to help u escape ur bubble and think critically about messaging and perception. are we losing that ability or is it still able to be saved? we don’t have very many answers but we gots lots of questions! just like u!”" -Immersive Atlanta
"Ask vocalist JayCub Lake (Muuy Biien) when the Pleasure Point was conceived and he’ll obliquely tell you the group has always existed in some “shape or form.” But while that may possibly be true in the abstract philosophical sense, the reality is the trio morphed out of the experimental Athens group CottonMouth whose last release was the 2014 hr ep. Since then, Lake and his Pleasure Point cohorts, bassist Bobbie Rapp (Material Girls) and DJ EA Shorts, have moved to Atlanta and started concocting a hazed-out hybrid of murky hip-hop, smooth funk, contorted pop and whatever else the threesome have discovered swirling around their proverbial kitchen sink. Give a listen to “half-way,” the first single from the trio’s upcoming American Singles, and there’s quite a bit to unpack, a cavalcade of reference points to explore if you so choose (check out that sly slice of West Coast G-funk the follows the chorus). But mostly you’ll discover a steady flow of woozy beats and narcotic grooves that expand, contract, and then dissipate like so much blunt smoke. At times, it’s difficult to decipher whether the group is just goofing on their own version of seductive, late-night R&B, or if everyone is just really faded and reveling in the moment. Truth be told, I’m not sure it matters. Either way, it’s is a spellbinding listen, perfect for early morning smoke sessions or aimless midnight drives. As for the Pleasure Point, it will be interesting to see how the project develops and evolves in 2018. There is the new record to look forward to, of course, and a couple of release shows, but look beyond that and things get a little cryptic, not unlike their music. “we plan to perform!” Lake exclaims over email about the trio’s future plans. “we plan to make u shake ur butts! we hope to help u escape ur bubble and think critically about messaging and perception. are we losing that ability or is it still able to be saved? we don’t have very many answers but we gots lots of questions! just like u!”" -Immersive Atlanta