Shy Layers - Midnight Marker
Sounds like?
jazzy electro pop rock with vocoder
Moods
A record that puts me in a good mood: chill with a pop, happy but not cheery, loose while tight.
Thoughts
all around enjoyable, strikes a nice balance. Has the precision of jazz and electronic but maintains a loose feel. The vocoder lyrics add a nice touch: never trying to steal the spotlight but adding an accessible hook. This record succeeds with it's songwriting and leaves rewards got repeat listens. It's presented simply but is an intricate production.
Philip Sherburne did a nice write-up for Pitchfork on this:
As before, Midnight Marker’s breezy melodies and lilting grooves make for a nice, chill listen—good morning-coffee music, cooking music, countryside-drive music. But this is nothing like the studied, stoned remove of anything you’ll find filed under “#chill” on any streaming service. His synths have real bite. His drums, recorded with real sticks on real skins, are enviably muscled. Walsh has said that one of his takeaways from both highlife and funk was that the guitar could function primarily as a percussive instrument, and he continues down that path here, backing up more melodically outgoing riffs and runs with plucked pulse and flicker.
More Info
https://www.discogs.com/Shy-Layers-Midnight-Marker/release/12081230
Listen!
Youtube
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AYuYnAdVZ7Q
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uFwx4Ay70CU
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28GZ8Nomy1w
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VbCAdmysIT0
Spotify
