I’m a fan of anything Nick Littlemore does. I love everything PNAU has released and I could go on about how refreshing Empire of the Sun’s album ‘Walking On A Dream’ was when it was released. So, when I heard Nick Littlemore had teamed up with Cloud Control’s Alistair Wright for a new project, I was immediately sold.
Vlossom just released their debut EP ‘My Friend’ and it feels like a modern disco dream. Each track takes you to a vibrant place where all you want to do is dance and just feel free. It’s liberating!
The EP’s lead single ‘Catch Your Breath’ has a great groove. Every element is balanced, with the beat bouncing alongside the vocals and working in perfect harmony. When you listen to the track, you instantly feel lighter which, according to Nick, is the whole point. “It’s that feeling of seeing a thing of absolute beauty, whether it’s a girl or guy or plant or animal and being brought into a heightened reality.”
Alister agrees, saying that the song really brought something unexpected out of him and the vocals simply just flowed out on their own, “For me, it was coming from that feeling when something rushes into you or out of you, your own body but you’re not really in control. It reminds you that you’re more than just a brain in a jar.”
Now, ‘Catch Your Breath’ is a joy, but ‘Tabs’ is something else. With more of an electronic vibe, ‘Tabs’ is unique because it not only uses vocal harmonies and a very trippy guitar track, there’s also a hollow whistle that you don’t really hear much of these days. This is where you find Nick’s talent for blending sounds together that you wouldn’t think would work, but then they just do. Add Alistair’s incredible storytelling to the mix and you have a gorgeous piece of music that just transports you to a very kaleidoscopic world.
Every track on ‘My Friend’ is a masterpiece. I’m not kidding. ‘Triplets’ is haunting, ‘Missing You’ is bubbly and ‘Gotta Prepare For This’ probably should be the soundtrack of 2020 as a whole.
There’s never a dull moment on Vlossom’s debut and I recommend listening to this whenever you just want to listen to an incredibly intricate, vibrant and pleasing piece of music.
Stream: Lab78 / etcetc
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