04 June 2011

Van der Saar - lowpass (2011)

New and third release for Allan Lewis, recorded at home in Toronto over the winter 2010/2011.

If you followed his past releases, there are no big change, just a cleaner sound and a slower more delicate songwriting. This new ep is a step towards a more sensitive kind of bedroom pop, at times, with the use of beats and keyboards behind the guitar and vocals.


The vibe is soft and melodic, definitely belonging to an early nineties kind of approach, "Sansico", the first track could be tagged almost as twee, easy to adopt, friendly, absolutely a good song but not a particularly original one."About the sun" is deepening the direction, dreamy, melancholic and relatively contemplative, perfect for driving at night under the cold rain.

Next Van der Saar finds back his noisier, more nervous side, with "Surf song" and gores higher with the vocals on "Battle James", which reminds me somewhat of Shawn Smith. Last track is returning to the quiet side, even with a romantic vibe but without totally embracing this side, so finally it's my opinion on this album, Van der Saar seems to be sitting between chairs not abandoning himself in a single direction, which could give him coherence and intensity. Anyways, it is a nice release and the two first tracks are really interesting.




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