Some music can be read like a pop history, and that is certainly the case with Fading, the latest EP from Land Mass. I don’t mean that this is music that has deliberately plundered the past; rather, it is clearly influenced by some of its more excellent and eclectic moments, subliminally and otherwise.
Take opener, “Green Parakeet,” a blend of shoegaze intensity and intimate indie songwriting, like Ride and Eliot Smith writing together and leaving enough space for each to shine as it ebbs and flows between gorgeous and groovesome extremes. It feels, in turns, anthemic and whispered, big and understated, and moves between these far-flung points on the sonic spectrum, these attractive opposites, effortlessly.
“Trojan Horses” takes the form of a gentle yet driving indie-pop piece, lush, energetic and infectious as hell, which is perfectly balanced by the space and understatement of “Evader,” which follows, not ambient as such but built from small sonic spikes and pulses which are dispersed across a gorgeously minimal backdrop of twinkling pianos and shimmering guitars.
“I’ll Follow You” is understated in a more folk-infused and finessed way, an acoustic serenade cocooned in gossamer sonics, and “Head On The Ground” plays us out not with a bang but a wonderfully deft and delicate and beautifully downbeat slice of music, one that runs from bedroom pop acoustic artistry to eventual electric sonic heights as it heads for home.
Fading is very much music of today but also with a timeless feeling, one that echoes everything from Laurel Canyon cinematics to the simpler, more seductive end of the Paisley Underground scene, singer-songwriter vibes and introspective alternative indie, poised bedroom pop, and a strange blend of cult and commerciality.
In short, all the things I love, and you will love this too.
