Satyrs

Memphis-based trio the Satyrs have put together a solid album of beautiful, melancholic rainy afternoon songs on their eponymous debut. The group's sound is fairly straightforward - shimmering guitars, solid melodic bass lines and yearning, reverb-drenched vocals are all brought together with spacious, warm production that allows the songs to unfold at their own pace and speak for themselves. The Satyrs blend elements of 4AD bands (particularly Dead Can Dance and the Cocteau Twins) with the ponderous idealism of '80s hippy goth bands the Mission and All About Eve, along with hints of Mazzy Star and Slowdive/Mojave 3, and a vague nod to the visionary spirit of the Doors and the Velvet Underground. The resulting sound is rich and emotional, and presented in a series of well-written, if not entirely original songs. The listener is drawn into a dreamy, occasionally gloomy introspective world and left to watch the rainfall after the album's closing piano instrumental.