Tag Archives: Dandy Warhols

Shimmer EP From Arktik Lake Creates Auditory Ambiance Like No Other

18 Oct

Arktik Lake just released their debut EP Shimmer and it will not disappoint listeners who want to indulge in some auditory shoegaze and ambient rock. Think Simple Minds meets Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros and you just have one facet of what Arktik Lake sounds like. With the themes of astral traveling, galaxies, and simply existing, this EP is one to just listen and take all of the music in. Marty Willson-Piper leading vocals and the background vocals of Olivia Willson-Piper cascading through, listeners will be surprised that this is their debut EP and everything sounds like it has been rooted for years. Listening to more of the EP, listeners get a deep idea of Arktik Lake and what really matters to them. A standout track from Shimmer called Promises We Made, includes lyrics such as “forever promises, we made, just you and me”. From the up of the guitar riff to the light drums in the background of the tracks, the band does an amazing job of not only creating auditory texture, but ambiance as well.

For More Listening

Artist Website

https://www.arktiklake.net

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A Somnolent Song?

19 Apr

The last time I did a SWOD was July, 2010. SWOD (song/word of the day) is a category that I started to profile vocabulary words and corresponding songs. On the way back to my house today, “Sleep” by The Dandy Warhols lulled me into a state of musical bliss, and somewhere in the repetitive riff I thought today would be a good day to bring back the SWOD. Thank the Dandy Warhols for their help!

Word: Somnolent (adj)- sleepy; drowsy

The Dandy Warhols formed in Portland, Oregon back in 1994 and they have released 10 albums to this date, spreading their alt/indie rock sound and apt pun band name. It is fitting that one of the band’s main inspirations is the Velvet Underground. In 2000 they released arguably their best album Thirteen Tales from Urban Bohemia, and today’s somnolent hit resides on track eight. Is “sleep” a drowsy song?

In one word, yes, “Sleep” fits neatly into the term somnolent. The song is carried by a repetitive guitar riff that mixes with Courtney Taylor-Taylor‘s whispered croon. The band also uses drawn-out studio effects that mesh with melodic chanting. The Dandy Warhols also use a neat song technique in “Sleep” that contributes to the soporific quality of the music. In a melodic move most similar to turning the volume knob on a stereo system down and up, the band slowly drops the studio-effects to highlight the chanting and then gradually works them back into the song. This “lulling” works to achieve a dreamy piece, and this works for the song because of the constant riff in the background.

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