#vacationeer

The Hague

Sun Valley Gun Club

Vacationeer

Vacationeer, the unofficial band of Eagles Rest is back with friends! 

Bellingham, WA, is tucked away in the corner of the continental US. It sits unassumingly in the space between Vancouver and Seattle. In a way, it's the perfect location for Vacationeer, a duo who creates ice-cold, ambient pop with some electronic leanings. Today, their track "Memories" is on the blog.

I'll be honest -- I don't really know too much about Vacationeer. They don't have that much stuff online, but judging from what's on their Bandcamp, their sound has already evolved considerably. Their first release, This Journal Belongs to Vacationeer, seems to be more riff-based than their last single, "Memories". Where the old stuff used tones that seemed closer to ambient rock or post-rock, almost out of the Tortoise or El Ten Eleven playbook, the newer stuff uses more synthesizers and bigger low-end, stuff that sounds closer to The xx and even approaches Boards of Canada at times. It's probably too soon to put them in any camp, though -- that'll have to wait until a proper EP.

If you happen to be in Bellingham, be sure to catch Vacationeer's show on November 3rd, where they'll be playing with Couches, who will be nearing the end of their national tour. You can keep up with Vacationeer on Facebook and follow them on Twitter @vctnr.

GB! OCT2014 Mixtape by Vacationeer

That Boards of Canada thing I was getting at earlier -- the synth tone in the opening of "Memories" is what I was talking about. This is a tune that spends a good amount of time building, and interestingly, most of the build is accomplished via added percussion. That's not to say there aren't other elements being added -- there are, just more subtly. The added percussion is the most noticeable bit. "Memories" is a tune that seems heavily focused on a minimal aesthetic, toying with the concept of negative space. I mean, the part of the track that resonated with me most was around 2:50 where everything but the guitar drops out for a second -- that's minimalism.

Vacationeer - “Memories”