Pure Bathing Culture

Uprooting from Brooklyn to Portland makes sense when you're an artist that makes balmy dream pop. For Pure Bathing Culture, it completely inspired their debut album, Moon Tides. Musical/romantic couple Sarah Versprille and Daniel Hindman (who tour as members of Sub Pop folkies Vetiver) one day began making music together. After hearing last year's EP, Richard Swift (Foxygen, the Shins) offered to produce their album at his scenic National Freedom studio in Cottage Grove, OR. Evoking a sonic climate similar to Baltimore's Beach House, Pure Bathing Culture's wistful love songs are wrapped in velvety soft production, even utilizing the same drum machine patterns. But Versprille's vocals don't ignite the corresponding nuances as BH's Victoria Legrand, radiating more of a genial, yet glassy versatility. Her lyrics, which explore a fascination for mystical curiosities like astrology, the Zodiac and crystals (a new hobby they picked up in Portlandia), might seem a bit cheesy, but they complement Hindman's transcendental musicianship quite fittingly. There's an underlying yacht rock influence that rears its head in the potent choruses of "Twins" and "Only Lonely Lovers," but they embrace it. "Scotty" lifts lyrics and a melody from Benny Mardones' 1980 hit "Into the Night," while "Temples of the Moon" bears a striking resemblance to Don Henley's "Boys of Summer." Alas, Moon Tides doesn't quite have the same lingering effect as Beach House's Teen Dream, but there's enough here to slide into a wonderful daydream for a half-hour or so.