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DRLNG - Icarus
MP3/Vinyl EP 2014 | Silber 167/Secret Brand Records 01 4 tracks, 15 minutes $3 download (order vinyl here) : Listen to the track Icarus : Press Release : Listen to the EP on Bandcamp Track Listing: Icarus My Gypsy Playground Punk Seattle |
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| Reviews: DRLNG’s “Icarus EP” is a downright sweet tender collection showcasing their pop perfection. Full of fascinating flourishes of sound their songs are crystal clear messages to the heart. Vocals are reassuring. Rhythms are based around emotion as much as the more traditional elements of keeping up the languid tempos. Such elements are wonderful throughout the many pieces. Lyrically the songs are woven together to create a narrative sensibility. Opening up with the spry “Icarus” DRLNG neatly show off their interplay. Judging from their work they clearly listen to each other and work off of each other. By far the highlight of the collection it is a fully realized piece of work. “My Gypsy” slows things down further exploring the actions of a quiet reflective day. Gentle in its introduction “Playground Punk” is a tremendous piece of work. The buildup and eventual release is so satisfying. From delicate vocal delivery to the deliberate growth of the rhythm the song celebrates their uncanny knack to let a sound fully bloom. At times reminiscent of Sonic Youth’s gentler moments, the piece shimmers and shines full of youthful optimism. Ending the collection off on a jaunty note is the playful “Seattle”. Full of interesting little details from the to and fro rhythm to the lyrics sung in French, the song excels at creating a sense of true comfort. Tasteful and with a clear sense of purpose DRLNG display immaculate pacing and bright tones throughout the “Icarus EP” ~ Beach Sloth The name might be, at first glance, tricky to pronounce, but DRLNG‘s sound is clear, sharp, and dreamy. And look twice, I’m sure you’ll find that out loud, that name is perfectly fitting. The New York and Paris based band have released their debut EP, Icarus, on 12" vinyl. And there are only 300 copies to be had. The video for the track “Playground Punk” begins on a background that promises, “Fun, games, excitement, thrills, this way,” and the gradual overlay of beautifully rhythmic dance performance and lead singer, Eliza,’s croon fulfills that promise. If you’re not already drawn in, have a listen to the rest of the EP, beginning with the title track “Icarus”. It’s a little darker and a tad more rhythmic … and absolutely addictive. Be prepared for the final song, “Seattle”, which has an extra lovely lyrical surprise — I won’t spoil it for you. One of the wonderful things about Icarus is that it was fully recorded in analog studios — which means that no computers were used in the recording of the album. But if vinyl’s not your medium, have no fear, the EP may be purchased digitally. ~ Kaitlin Ruether, newsickmusic The Icarus EP is the debut from NYC and Paris based band DRLNG on Silber Records. The four tracks are dynamic shoegaze anthems with some phenomenal vocals and instrumentals. Bright, fresh and inventive, with sterling production and a thoroughly compelling vibe, this is one of our favorite releases of the year. This is a record just too good to miss and is a definite must have. ~ Floorshime Zipper Boots US based band DRLNG consists of former members of US band Plumerai and France-based singer Eliza Brown, and while information about this project is sparse, to the point of not explicitly naming all people involved in an easy to find manner, it would appear that this venture started in 2014. “Icarus” is their debut EP, and was released as a 12 inch vinyl LP through a label presumably formed by the band themselves, A Secret Brand, as well as a digital release through US label Silber Records. Of the four compositions on this EP, the first three all explore a fairly similar sounding territory. Steady drum patterns and a firm bass forms a strong and distinct foundation, in a manner that comes across as distinctly influenced by English new wave music of the 1980’s. Light toned, gentle and mainly plucked layers of acoustic guitars with some textures of a more ethereal nature is added as a gentle presence on top, in a manner that is comparable to the material of singer/songwriters such as Suzanne Vega. Vocalist Eliza Brown then supplies vocals, with a light toned, sensual style of vocals, coming across as something of an angelic version of aforementioned Suzanne Vega with her vocal style, and also with similarities to a singer like Annie Lennox. For the concluding track of this EP the band takes a sharp left turn into a staccato, waltz or possibly tango like expression, with the staccato rhythms and plucked guitars transitioning to a firm, dark electric guitar riff and more flowing rhythms applied in between the vocal sequences. This one track also features French language vocals rather than the English language vocals used on the earlier tracks, further separating this concluding track from the previous ones. The end result here is a highly compelling EP of sophisticated pop music, with the opening three tracks coming across as material residing on the halfway stage between singer/songwriter material of the Suzanne Vega kind and 80’s new wave, with the concluding piece a more exotic creation that has something more of a general French cultural flair to it, combining the folk and waltz/tango tendencies with a slight taste of what might be described as post-punk. An EP to seek out for fans of well made, elegant and sophisticated pop music. ~ Olav Martin Bjørnsen, House of Prog The tight and bright 2014 Icarus EP marks the debut of the indie pop quartet that originally recorded as Plumerai under their new name of DRLNG. Despite the group’s billing in some press materials as a shoegaze-inspired project, I noticed much more inspiration coming from the world of cheerful French pop music of the ‘60s, particularly in the almost birdlike vocal melodies heard in these tracks. Focusing on singer Eliza Brown’s soothing soprano, the album’s somewhat mysterious and very European-sounding title track surges forward on the back of a bouncy bassline before the EP settles in on the more relaxed pairing of “My Gypsy” and “Playground Punk.” Both of these tracks come across as playful love songs built around gentle guitar melodies and cooing, high-pitched vocals. Final track “Seattle” is sung in French and delivered in three-quarter time, unleashing powerful guitar riffage around the midway point that adds punch to an otherwise quaint tune. Though fairly short, this quietly delightful and rather unique EP is probably one of the year’s most unexpectedly pleasant surprises and is definitely worth a listen. ~ Scene Point Blank Recording software has made an enormous impact on contemporary music production. Through the manipulation of noises as expressed in ones and zeroes, there is much opportunity to "fix" performance. The result? Homogenous product, with voices and instrumental touches virtually indistinguishable from one another. In many instances, this intervention is absolutely necessary as the "talent" just isn't there. Instead of using available technical resources to enhance the material, laptop engineers now sublimate it. Would you smother a gourmet meal in ketchup? Growing dissatisfied with such trends, many artists are approaching the recording process from another angle. The warmth of analog is felt in every note in the new EP from DRLNG. Committing all four songs on Icarus to tape, a lush soundscape is created that is dependant upon precision playing, strong melody and the dulcet tones of lead singer Eliza Brown. The quartet is rounded out by Martin Newman (guitars), James Newman (bass) and Mickey Vershbow (drums). The material is thoughtful and well crafted, with the highlight (for me) being the title track. Full marks go to all involved here, especially in terms of how they have carefully chosen to put the songs first and not succumb to layering and tracking to the point where the music loses all personality. The band have issued Icarus as a limited edition vinyl release (300 copies pressed) in addition to downloadable format. In truth, this recording is tailor made for your turntable, as it would best allow listeners to appreciate how these arrangements breathe outside of the confines of digital mastering. I look forward to hearing a full length release from DRLNG, though in the meantime you can purchase the Icaras EP right here. Be sure to add this to your collection. ~ Sean Coleman, Pod DRLNG have released their debut EP Icarus. The group have melted together from different bands in Boston, New York - America. The songs touch the shoegazing genre, which to the rest of us feature nice and subtle guitar playing, soft drums and features keyboards and bass to feel the dreamy music. The songs - Icarus, My Gypsy, Playground Punk & Seattle are sung in a way that touches you to the point you feel some tingling feeling just underneath your skin. Enough of the physical attributes, the emotional impact just hits the spot beautifully. ~ Adam Turk, Clown Magazine next up a couple of treats from the Silber imprint who of late appear to have gone into some kind of pre yuletide overdrive, first up a quite fetching limited 12 inch release – how limited is something of a mystery with one source stating 300 and another – funnily enough on the same page having it at 250. Whatever the case you need it especially if what passes for dream pop floats your particular musical boat for this four track debut comes from Drlng who feature among their ranks ex members of the much admired plumerai. The ‘icarus’ EP as said gathers together four quite beguiled gems the lead out title cut ‘Icarus’ somehow avoiding the usually obvious dream pop dialects and instead decidedly opting for something subtly kissed in a rain swept noir bruising that purrs seductively like some youthful variant of Belle and Sebastian undergoing a spot of studio tutoring by Musetta. ‘my gypsy’ on the other hand finds itself sharing a loose kinship with Postcode in so far as recalling with pristine effect the much missed Melys. All said what makes the EP such a deceptively attractive listening experience are Eliza’s purring tonalities, part seductive and siren-esque yet somewhat shy and innocent, the croons and hiccups are quite fetching and cute to say the least not least best viewed on ‘playground punk’ – incidentally the best cut here – shimmers and shivers playfully all the time Eliza’s soulful croon dizzily lost in the moment stirring a gorgeously dinked noodling twee motif the likes of which will make die hard Sarah admirers blush and purr given the fact that it sounds not a million miles away from a dream team gathering of Frente and Siddleys type leaving ‘Seattle’ to round up matters though not before revealing itself as something of a slow burning honey clipped in a classic shade adorned 60’s accent with just the merest of nods to Joe Meek and primed with a deliciously dark noir ballad-esque prowl that sumptuously ruptures into fizzing feedback scowls. Breathless in a word. ~ Bark Barton, The Sunday Experience Quedó bien arraigado lo de publicar listas apenas llega diciembre. ¿Cómo le hacen si sale una buena canción durante diciembre? ¿Las bandas que quieran escapar de la listopía sacarán canciones en diciembre como statement? Pienso en eso mientras escucho Icarus, un EP recién publicado por DRLNG. Llegué tarde al culto de Plumerai, banda dreampop de Boston. Los conocí cuando estrenaron cantante (Eliza Brown) en el EP Marco Polo. Ahí venía "Trip", canción que traje a vuelta y vuelta durante 2012. En los primeros meses de 2014 presentaron en su blog una nueva canción (en francés) llamada "Seattle". La canción resultó ser el inicio de una nueva banda, ahora Eliza Brown, el guitarrista Martin Newman y su tropa se presentan como DRLNG y "Seattle" es uno de los cuatro tracks en su primer EP, publicado el 16 de diciembre. Hacemos trampa al llamar dreampop a la música de Brown y Newman. Digamos que es dreampop sin efectos especiales. Ya sé que el dreampop es en buena parte efectos especiales. Es sólo que tiene sentido decirlo así. O tiene sentido al escucharlos. ~ Nicolás Díaz, Murmuju |
