Bathed in the nostalgia and innocence that is only conjured when you try to capture memories of youth, “Indian Summer” is one of those songs that brilliantly suggests a time and a place, one both intimate and personal to the artist but also relatable and universally recognizable to any who crossthe song’s path.
As Spouses move away from the chilled folk creations of their previous release, “California Wine,” and head into a new, more up-and-at-‘em, lo-fi indie sonic playground, they embrace a broader and more confident set of sounds. The guitars are lush and shimmering, brass salvos stab and strut, beats drive, and the vocals are melodic and sing-along-able.
But the cool thing is that for all of “Indian Summer’s” more feel-good, anthemic, and joyous sound, it retains a beautiful, ragged edge. This is by no means a criticism—far from it. As we are all too aware, as many artists transfer their ideas from demo tape to studio, as budgets increase and possibilities expand, they often lose the simple charm of the idea that they started out with. Not so here.
It is that slightly unpolished, bedroom pop quality coupled with the lush, wide-screen sounds that are everything. The song retains the feeling that it is an act of love, a celebration of formative days, and a memory of those endless summer months that seem prevalent in everyone’s memories as they look back to more innocent times.
“Indian Summer” perfectly balances passion and poise, infectious melody, and lo-tech machinations. It is everything you wish the modern pop and indie worlds were, but sadly, aren’t.
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