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NBHAP Rating: 3,5/5
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[one_half last=”yes”]PURE BATHING CULTURE
Pray For Rain
Release-Date: 23.10.2015
Label: Partisan Records
Tracklist:
01. The Tower
02. Pray for Rain
03. Palest Pearl
04. Clover
05. Darling, Save Us
06. Singer
07. She Shakes
08. Maximillan’s Ring
09. I Trace Your Symbol
10. In the Night, In the Peaceful Night
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Losing Weight
If music could float like fog on a cold, dusky morning, mystical and transcending, Pray for Rain would do so. The second album by PURE BATHING CULTURE ditched the heavy layers that rooted their 2013 debut album Moon Tides firmly into the ground and created a sound worth of the term dream pop. Or maybe dream pop light. By working with producer John Congleton (ST. VINCENT, THE WALKMEN) the Portland-based duo was hoping to move away from the produced sound that marked their first album, into something more pure and personal.
Lost Lyrics
Between Sarah Versprille’s warm and dreamy voice and the coat of catchy guitar riffs and beautiful baselines by the duo’s other half Daniel Hindman, it is easy to get comfortable and forget to try and comprehend what the songs are actually about. The album’s title song, and the heaviest instrument-wise, is about the two versions of oneself, and never being able to be both. There’s the best version of you, and a less perfect version of you. PURE BATHING CULTURE said that their opening song Tower was inspired by the disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370. The lyrics, hidden away in the atmospheric composition, convey a message about not being able to communicate with people anymore. Singer, with its floating melody and light vocals, is the most autobiographical song the duo has ever written. Versprille sings about second-guessing and self-doubt but is so sonically enchanting that she has little to worry about.
Eighties Baby
The combination of guitar and drums in Pray for Rain, Palest Pearl, I Trace Your Symbol and She Shakes gives the album the feel of an 80s love baby, immediately evoking the comparison with FLEETWOOD MAC, THE CURE or even THE SMITHS. A sound that is not ultra fresh or original, but there’s something about the combination of Versprille’s alluring vocals and Hindman’s almost nostalgic compositions that makes this album a great listen.
If you want to experience this album the right way, listen to it twice. Once to lose yourself in the beautiful music and enticing vocals, and once while allowing yourself to think along with the existential topics hidden within the lyrics.
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