One Part Gentle, One Part Aggressive

Psychedelic/dream-pop band Weekender creates an exciting  atmosphere in their latest album, Floaty Feeling, Blue, which will be released January 15, 2016. The band’s goal is to convey the idea of connecting humans and the natural world. Namely, by blending either mellow, spacey intros or powerful guitar fuzz with catchy pop hooks in each song.

The title track is airy and sweet. It carries the notion of romance and finding happiness in every day modern life. The lyrics are simple, with plenty of allusions to the theme of reality vs. dreaming. The 80s analogue synthesizers used, a June 106 and a Prophet 600, make spacious waves for the guitar riffs. The vocals are gentle and airy, bearing similar resemblance to the soft reverberations of Tame Impala’s front man Kevin Parker. The easygoing chords seem to take after alternative influences, such as The Pixies. The track “My Only Dream,” similarly uses soothing, Indie-pop instrumentals.

The rest of the album, however, mixes a lot heavier, grinding guitar and electronics that very well deserve to be played on your local rock station. Each song stands alone as unique. It is surprising that the catchy “Loving Hating,” for example, was not marketed as a single. It is arguably the most powerful-sounding song on the album and falls in line with an alternative rock style. Meanwhile, “No Time to Waste” provides a nice transition between the gentle tracks and the more aggressive tracks.

“When We Woke” starts with a slow ambiance and ghostly, echo-y vocals, before it turns into something more uplifting, with the addition of layered guitar riffs. And “Half Awake” demonstrates the band’s ability to experiment with and master the synthesizer effects. Overall, Weekender’s work is impressive and promising. The album is enjoyable and is definitely something to look forward to in the new year.