Echo Lake

Wild Peace

BY Cam LindsayPublished Jun 27, 2012

Sadly, the release of Echo Lake's debut full-length arrives just days after live drummer Pete Hayes passed away at the age of 25. But he would be proud of what his band accomplished with Wild Peace. Echo Lake are essentially Thom Hill (production) and Linda Jarvis (vocals), who write and record as a duo. Following up 2011's mini-album, Young Silence, they found a perfect fit with Slumberland for a North American release. Echo Lake craft meticulous and ambitious dream pop that ventures beyond the usual trappings found in that genre. At times, they recall the late, great Broadcast, mostly in their knack for iridescent melodies, reverb and studio trickery. But while Broadcast were all over the map in their retro-futuristic sound experiments, Echo Lake keep things far more controlled and concise. Jarvis's angelic voice provides an anchor, matching notes with Hill's chiming guitars on "Another Day," following the motorik rhythm like a bouncing ball on the Krautrockin' "In Dreams" and doubling up to help build the sleepy ambience for closer "Just Kids." Wild Peace is a transcendental album that shows a band reaching for new heights, and achieving blissful music that many of their peers can only dream of making.
(Slumberland)

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