Four Visions // “Spark Fire (Fall Trees Are Spires)”

I wasn’t sure if Dan Abary would pick up his folk side project Four Visions again or not. Helming the immensely promising shoegaze outfit Sight Seeing, I assumed that all engines were go as far as getting their debut ready. While it’s true that the band is hard at work on their album for Bleach Blonde Records, Dan also found time to restring his old guitar and pen some new Four Visions tracks.

In the past Dan tagged these intensely personal tracks as “doom folk” due to how dark they were tonally. But I think that once you listen to one of his newer tracks called “Spark Fire (Fall Trees Are Spires)” you’ll find that that description no longer suits. In keeping with his usual lightheartedness, “Spark Fire” is a decided shift in tone for Four Visions. Handclaps, the slight buzz of the acoustic guitar, pleasant harmonies and a decent helping of “oohs” and “ah” make the song an absolute joy to listen to. Make no mistake, I’m eagerly anticipating the Sight Seeing full length, but this new track puts Four Visions right up there with them.

 

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Sight Seeing // Y C

One of the coolest things about being a music blogger is witnessing an artist’s evolution. This instance is one of those such metamorphoses. Way back in January I blurbed about the handful of demos that I found on the Youth Castles bandcamp. After the post went up, YC mastermind Dan Abary wrote me and thanked me for the exposure and it was from that point on that we had some sort of unspoken agreement/friendship. He penned the jams, sent them my way, and I’d post them up here for all you wonderful people to hear. Bing, bang, boom.

Along the way Dan has shown us several vastly different aspects of his songwriting prowess. He gave us some stripped down and deeply personal folk as Four Visions, then the sunny beach pop of Dorean, and even he flipped Youth Castles on its head and with the beautiful dream pop track “Sight Seeing” back in April. And apparently he isn’t done yet, not by a long shot.

Shifting his focus back to Youth Castles, Dan has assembled a full-time band, lined up some East coast shows, and (taking a cue from his last and most popular track) changed the name of the project to Sight Seeing. It’s a move that shows that this young band is gearing up for big things (including an upcoming cassette on Bleach Blonde Records), so stay ahead of the curve by keeping your thumb on their page. On their bandcamp you’ll find a handful of demos (some new, some old) all ready for you to sink your teeth into.

Well, what are you waiting for?!

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BANDCAMP | SOUNDCLOUD

 

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OK, like I said I’ve received alot of music that I really want to share. Unfortunately it would take me forever to do a post on each one. So I’ve decided to devote this week to mega posts. I hope you don’t mind! Should be a good time.

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Napolian // Guns & Synths

I knew that I would dig Napolian’s music before I really even listened to him. First of all his name is Ian (bonus) and second all of his artwork looks like it’s straight outta Windows 95 era computers. Listening to it just confirmed this suspicion. His tropical 1980’s jams are the kind of stuff that I scour bandcamp searching for. It’s all pastel colors and Trapper Keeper notebooks with dolphins flying through space. If you are digging on Ford & Lopatin’s Channel Pressure or even Teams’ Dxys Xff , then I strongly encourage you to check out Napolian’s EP Guns & Synths. You can download the thing for free on his bandcamp. And while you’re at it, give his Tumblr a follow to further immerse yourself in his cheesy 1980’s world.

“Hoobangin ‘96 (Blue Wrangler Sport)”

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Goodwill Tapes from Outer Space // Goodwill Tapes from Outer Space

There is so much charm leaking out of every orifice of Goodwill Tapes from Outer Space. Completely embodying the very nature of bedroom pop, the tracks here employ the help of Casio beats, synths, and microphones probably picked up from the local Salvation Army.Those home recording obstacles allow the songwriting to sit in the front seat here. Melodies skip gleefully out of vocal chords creating an atmosphere of utter joy. On highlighted track “Eyedrops” the singer even takes a moment to cough and clear his throat without really even stepping away from the mic. It’s this nonchalant attitude that makes this album such a joy to listen to. Download for free on bandcamp. Highly recommended.

“Eyedrops”

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Four Visions // “(I Feel Like) I Hate Everything”

We’ve come to associate Dan Abary (mastermind behind shoegaze kids Youth Castles) with his knack for poppy hooks buried underneath graves of heavy distortion. When Dan emailed me with this other project that predates Youth Castles I was pretty surprised. Under the moniker Four Visions, Dan strips his music down to a gloomy folk skeleton. He then casually throws meat onto that skeleton in the form of raw, unbridled emotion. It can be tough to hear the darkness in Dan’s lyrics given Youth Castles’ upbeat nature, but that’s the beauty here. He told me that it wasn’t easy to share these tracks because they were so personal to him. I think that we can be agreement that even though it was hard to share them it was for the best. Out of pain comes true art. He only has two tracks on his bandcamp, but they are both well worth your time.

“(I Feel Like) I Hate Everything”

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She’s Electric // Daguerreotype (1/4)

A good friend of Mark Redito’s (Spazzkid, My Parasol) named Ryo Baum emailed me with his newest EP as She’s Electric. He embarked on a project where he would write a song a week and after a positive response to many of the tracks he decided to collect his favorites and release as them as an EP. And so Daguerreotype (1/4) was born. Mastered by Mark Redito, the EP showcases Ryo’s ability to dabble in several styles incorporating electronic, alternative, shoegaze, 8-bit, and folk. My favorite track on the EP is the opener “(8 Bit) Comes Alive”. True to its name this track really opens up and swallows you whole. Building layer after 8-bit layer, Baum layers electronic sounds like a bricklayer lays bricks. The resulting tracks is a pulsating beast of momentum that is absolutely undeniable. Download that track and the rest of the EP for free on She’s Electric’s bandcamp page.

“(8 Bit) Comes Alive”

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Come back tomorrow for another mega post of mega awesome music.

 

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