The songs show an evolution for Neon Indian in their complexity of sonic layers, highlighted by the second track on the album, “Annie,” which features clean guitar riffs over a low-key reggae beat. There is a lot going on in the song, but Palomo manages to weave it all together and the result is a wrapped and ready “pop” song that is way too cool to be called as such.

Later, on “Smut!,” Palomo kicks it off with a synthesized beat that sounds straight off of Grateful Dead’s “Shakedown Street.” It would be hard to believe that something as produced as Neon Indian would draw inspiration from the original granola group, and yet there in the chorus he sings, “I’ll be fine til the shakedown.” The musical influences are strong with this one.

Occasionally the album gets caught between Palomo’s two worlds of dancefloor-filler and lo-fi songwriter, like on the interlude track, “Bozo,” which feels like a rough cut of a song that was thrown in for filler. Then it becomes clear that he was just using it as setup for the stellar next song, “The Glitzy Hive,” which could fill a dancefloor and sounds even cleaner thanks to the chaos preceding it.

The album gets its name from the artist’s experiences hanging out with friends after dark in their studios. He believes that is where he learned the most interesting things, in other words it was like he was attending “night school.” If this album is his final project in order to graduate, then give the man his damn degree already and get him on stage. Sounds like a helluva school.

The post Neon Indian is schooling people on “VEGA INTL. Night School” appeared first on Quip Magazine.

Brave Shores: New synth kids on the block, Brave Shores is Jay and Stefanie McCarrol, a sibling duo from Toronto. It was an interesting choice to have them up on the main stage at Royal Athletic Park, as their performance of their own songs was an A for effort. High-spirited songs like “Never Come Down” or “Dancing Underwater” felt much more spontaneous on record than they did live. Give or take a year, there’s no doubt Brave Shores will do justice to themselves live.  Playing new tracks for the crowd, the infectious quality to their songs is what makes Brave Shores continue to stand out in a sea of synth pop bands, however the overall impact was diluted by repetitious lyrics that didn’t quite hit the mark live.

Sticky Fingers: There were a lot of artists playing in Victoria, but Sticky Fingers was a memorably good-looking band. The drummer was wearing jean shorts that left nothing to the imagination, and everyone needed a haircut and shower a week ago – such a look for a reggae band from Australia. Incredibly fun live, Sticky Fingers was a true delight. From love dub tunes like “Gold Snafu” to heavy noise throwdown, this was a warm set. Amusingly enough, on their Facebook description they say, “They’ll hypnotise you into a swaying trance, then punch you in the face for dancing like a hippy.”

The Zolas: Local darlings of Vancouver, The Zolas are an indie rock band with a hip sensibility and polished antics. The lead singer had interesting hand gestures and flips that were as elegant as they were silly. “Strange Girl” was amped, played up for all its worth in all the right ways. Having released the “Molotov Girls” off Light Organ Records earlier this summer, The Zolas have been on tour and plan to release a new album, currently titled Swooner in the near future.

Neon Indian: Long gone are the days when Neon Indian and chillwave will ever be in the same room again. The intense look in Alan Palomo’s eyes as he danced in serious and nimble fashion to the pop pastiche of his current discography was a blunt reminder of this. Drifting in between electronic genres, weaving synths with disco beats, there was this same dance in Neon Indian’s set that performed classics like “Terminally Chill.” VEGA INTL. Night School, despite a cover that tries too hard to be tacky, appears to be a goodie.

The post Free spirits of Rifflandia: Brave Shores, The Zolas, Neon Indian and Sticky Fingers appeared first on Quip Magazine.