Electronic, psychedelic tea infused with honey-sweet vocals and a refreshing classic pop tang.

6 MP3 Songs
POP: with Electronic Production, ELECTRONIC: Pop Crossover



Details:
Half gooey, organic confection, half machine drilled bliss-pop, "Music for Chaise Lounges and Gardens" is the six-song debut from Portland musicians Mock Tender.

The album banks on an intriguing combination of sundazed classic pop (think Brian Wilson), a palette of sounds borrowed from a streamlined future, and flourishes of psychedelia that are liable to creep up on the listener before they know what's hit them.

Add to this a generous helping of shimmering vocal harmonies and you begin to understand that this music, despite its title, isn't garden variety.

Nowhere is the album's musical bent more apparent than "Cat's-Eye-Green Sea."

It starts with a stripped down arrangement of solo voice and synthesized piano, the combination sounding quite stark compared to the majestic weight to which it eventually builds.

"World keeps spinning, a new life beginning" is the lyric, and indeed this dense production coupled with the song's down-tempo feel evokes the presence of a world silently progressing and dying to be reborn.

Other highlights include "Falling Down", heavy with Cocteau Twins-style melancholy and dreamy vocals that capture the listener's attention rather than putting them to sleep, and "The Sun", a fast-moving number filled with lush harmonies, orchestral grandeur, and the infectious optimism of sunlight.