Some 2019 favorites (part 2)

Some more favorites from 2019. Today's menu: dark shoegaze and joyful piano!

Chasms - The Mirage (Felte Records)

At the beginning of the year, a release from LA-based label Felte Records took me by surprise. Chasms, unknown to me until then, released a very pure, dark, dream pop LP called The Mirage. Melodic, delicate, full of restraint, and borderline hypnotic, this album has been a worthy late-night companion all year long. It sounds like a very subdued, minimalist, version of School of Seven Bells mixed with Cocteau Twin brand of melancholia. I enjoyed The Mirage every time I picked it up in 2019 and found a new way to appreciate it each time. Somehow I think of Mezzanine by Massive Attack each time I listen to the dub bass and heavy guitar of the title track and I think that's enough said: check that out below!

Luke Abbott - Music from the Edge of an Island (float)

Fact: Sofia Ilyas label/PR firm, float has a tasty roster: Between, Italian hypnotic drummer, Andrea Belfi (I've seen him live in 2019 opening for Nigel Godrich and Thom Yorke, it was gr-ea-t) and newly-signed, UK, electronic artist, Luke Abbott, you're all set! The latter surprised me a lot in 2019 with Music From The Edge Of An Island: The most, joy sparking, immediately enjoyable releases of 2019 Piano Day celebrations. Gentle and calming, far from his previous more experimental electronic tracks, I unreasonably dug the 10 tracks of the LP. It made me kind of sad that it seems to have escaped most top ten list of 2019. It's just simple, rad, very melodic, piano compositions that can be used as an introduction to anyone who's not that familiar with piano-based modern classical stuff... I hope Luke Abbott will revisit this sound in the future. it suits him.

Stay tuned for more of my 2019 favorites next week!