Arches- Wide Awake
Philadelphia, PA’s Arches are a band I generally didn’t know much about until fatefully having an opportunity to see them live in Gainesville, FL while I was on tour and I can’t say that I regret a single second of their set. With two releases under their belt, Arches certainly knows how to create a dreamy, beautiful landscape. After releasing an EP, the band felt ready to tackle a 9 song, concept LP that they released themselves.
The band manages to create a lo-fi, dreamy soundscape without making it seem trite and boring. There’s an abundance of bands who rip pages directly out of the K Records and Slumberland records’ pages, but few of them, in my opinion, really hit the nail on the head. Vocalists Tom Herman and Julian Rossow Greenberg’s dreamy, two part harmony, reverb drenched vocals over the swirling guitars and tumbling drums, lead well into the whole concept of the record; a man lives in a city alone and his day to day mundane tasks drives him to leave and become a drifter which eventually stunts his ability to realize what’s in his memory and his current perceptions. Despite the band’s whopper opener, a six and a half minute roll explore an intimacy, church-like spaciousness, and pop hooks. The record goes from laid back swirls to headfirst stumbles propelled by bass and drums on and off that it creates an interesting atmosphere as the story develops (ala ‘Every Moment of the Day’, track 2). Dreamy, bubbly guitars and crashing solos and drums follow suit in a non-formulaic pattern that never lets you feel bored or disinterested. It’s a wonderful sonic landscape that’s suitable for either dreamy summer weather or the still of winter, in the overly poetic sense.
As someone who might have just let this record pass over and not pay much attention, and someone who thinks the dream pop/lo-fi scene is overcrowded and starting to get trite and boring, this is a welcome change. Check it out now.
