Malka-The Constant State EP (Cyan Records)

I know about NYC dream gazers Malka through my friend Shauna McLarnon, who does PR for the band over at Shameless Promotion. Malka is the vision of Croatian-born/Peruvian raised musician named Darko Saric (guitars, synths, vocals), who first connected with American session drummer Mike Dawson. The two were later joined by David Ciauro (bass, vocals) and EJ DeCoske (guitars, synths, vocals ) to complete the ensemble. The EP was mixed by Darko Saric (coolest name ever!) and mastered by Grammy Award-winning engineer Butch Jones (Talking Heads, Iggy Pop, The Gun Club, B-52s). It is a cool amalgamation of shoegaze, dream pop, post rock with prog leanings, and psychedelia. I know how some people hate labels, but it’s a jumping off point for understanding what makes a band tick.

“Diamond Girl” is my favorite track on the EP, maybe because it reminds me of what Engineers would sound like from a post rock perspective. It is a tripped out masterpiece with all the cool fx you can imagine, shoegaze with a prog sheen to it. The drummer is right out front with the vocals, and he is dynamic. Darko (if he is the one singing here) sure sounds like Mark Peters of Engineers! A high compliment from me as I am a huge Engineers fan, and this is what I wish Engineers sounded like now. The song is finished out with some nice soloing from guitar and drums. Tracking back to the opening track, “A Flock of Crows”, we have a good start with pretty dream pop and one place where you hear someone counting out beats (made me smile). It is majestic and distorted all at once, and leads into “For Now We Live”, with its tribal drums and soaring melodies. You will surely be in orbit before this song ends! “Mientras Se Respira” is another pretty tune, and will carry you along in its flowery wake.

“Wolves and Sheep” is purest post rock, if the synth lines are any clue. And yet, there is something sinister and mesmerizing at its core. “Corazon Sin Sangre” is up next (roughly translates to Bloodless Heart, possibly Cold Heart?), a gauzy slice of dream pop with choral harmonies. “Swoon”, the EP’s closing track, veers closer to psych pop and has some really trippy passages. I like this band and hope they continue to produce music at this level. For fans of all the aforementioned genres.

Check out the band at Bandcamp, on the band’s web site, or on their Facebook page.