With an intro that might as well have been a new Fever Ray track, the Montreal duo
Solar Year certainly did one thing right in order to spread their first single "Brotherhood" out to the midpoints of the internet: they invited their friend Grimes to guest vocals. Anything that has the name Grimes on it these days is doomed to be posted everywhere, as we also saw happen with our friend Kuhrye-oo only a few months ago. But in similarity to the undeservedly slow hype around Kuhrye-oo, despite his flawless productions and highly recommended live sets, people's interest is literally like a one-way street. Unless, of course, you're lucky to have the right people discover you. That does unfortunately not count for everyone.
It is still way too early to make any statements about the career of the duo that launched their debut album Waverly for a swimming audience, but as far as I have given the entire album a good spin, there is a lot more highly potential material than just 'that one song that has Grimes on it'. Let me try to put it in some meaningless gentrification: drone-suffused electronic psych pop from the Middle Age, located somewhere in between a post-modern bedroom and a chapel deep into the canadian woods. And then, of course, there's the underwater reference. Looking at the footage from their album release at Memorial Pool in Montreal (make sure to check out the video below), you can't help but wonder what Solar Year would've sounded like under the water surface. Would their eternal vocals disappear in deep waves of bass, or somehow work well with the underwater acoustics, evolving into an echoing orchestra of vocals? I'm rather curious.
There is no denial that influence from other productive Canadian heads shine through in their production, however. Grimes, check. Born Gold, Kuhrye-oo, Purity Ring, check again. But then on the other side, the water of Solar Year has a different colour, and if you take time to dip your head into their wide and unknown, liquified landscape, you might get pleasantly surprised.
Have a first listen to "Lines" below, taken from their debut album Waverly, that was launched just a few weeks ago. A music video is also in the making, directed by none other than Emily Kai Bock, the same director as in Grimes' "Oblivion".
With an intro that might as well have been a new Fever Ray track, the Montreal duo
Solar Year certainly did one thing right in order to spread their first single "Brotherhood" out to the midpoints of the internet: they invited their friend Grimes to guest vocals. Anything that has the name Grimes on it these days is doomed to be posted everywhere, as we also saw happen with our friend Kuhrye-oo only a few months ago. But in similarity to the undeservedly slow hype around Kuhrye-oo, despite his flawless productions and highly recommended live sets, people's interest is literally like a one-way street. Unless, of course, you're lucky to have the right people discover you. That does unfortunately not count for everyone.
It is still way too early to make any statements about the career of the duo that launched their debut album Waverly for a swimming audience, but as far as I have given the entire album a good spin, there is a lot more highly potential material than just 'that one song that has Grimes on it'. Let me try to put it in some meaningless gentrification: drone-suffused electronic psych pop from the Middle Age, located somewhere in between a post-modern bedroom and a chapel deep into the canadian woods. And then, of course, there's the underwater reference. Looking at the footage from their album release at Memorial Pool in Montreal (make sure to check out the video below), you can't help but wonder what Solar Year would've sounded like under the water surface. Would their eternal vocals disappear in deep waves of bass, or somehow work well with the underwater acoustics, evolving into an echoing orchestra of vocals? I'm rather curious.
There is no denial that influence from other productive Canadian heads shine through in their production, however. Grimes, check. Born Gold, Kuhrye-oo, Purity Ring, check again. But then on the other side, the water of Solar Year has a different colour, and if you take time to dip your head into their wide and unknown, liquified landscape, you might get pleasantly surprised.
Have a first listen to "Lines" below, taken from their debut album Waverly, that was launched just a few weeks ago. A music video is also in the making, directed by none other than Emily Kai Bock, the same director as in Grimes' "Oblivion".