Echo Lake
Echo Lake formed late in 2010 after Thom Hill and Linda Jarvis met studying at art school in South London. The ex-choir girl's voice perfectly suited Hill's Brian Wilson-meets-Galaxie 500 productions and they set about work on a new project. A songwriting and recording duo (fleshed out to a five piece for rare live dates), the act were picked up by cult London label No Pain In Pop and the resulting, acclaimed debut EP Young Silence quickly caused a press feeding frenzy.
Fourteen months later and debut album Wild Peace is a considered, singular work brashly proving right all the hype. Marrying Hill's huge, dense production style with countless interweaving layers of Jarvis' emotive and cavernous voice the tracks seem to float like the densest of mirages, maintaining a majestic indie-rock classicism. It's a uniquely direct and committed take on the melodic side of psychedelia’s pop frontier; the sound of a band flying close to the sun with just their debut release.
'Further Down' is a meticulous introduction to the record; the perfect balance Jarvis' vengeful whispers with a controlled and tuned aggression, which could be a description of the group as a whole. Early single 'Another Day' is as straightforward a classic-British-guitar-pop-track as you could hope for, with Hill's joyous guitar lead spiraling over rising vocals and eventually building up to a frenetic climax. 'Wild Peace' is a swooning organ and string-led ballad set to soundtrack a lost prom waltz, the widescreen chorus summoning up hazy memories of Kim Gordon's cooings on 'Shadow of A Doubt', latter-day Beach House and endlessly spinning mirror balls. The early-Arcade Fire immediacy of 'Even The Blind' is the album's boldest point: a shimmering affirmation of hope and self-belief in a decade of interesting times.
After the impressionistic blushes of instrumental 'Monday 5AM' the record quickly picks up pace. 'Young Silence' and 'In Dreams' - re-recorded selections from the band's debut EP - more overtly recall My Bloody Valentine's raw, abstract energy and Deerhunter or Spacemen 3's layered, rhythmic sprawl. The former's a Spector-esque wall of sound pop tune set to warp speed and the latter an ethereal interpretation of kraut minimalism. Jarvis' interchangeable, chameleon vocals give 'Last Song Of The Year' a huge and uplifting melodic quality furthered by a hypnotic riff John Squire would be proud of, all set atop stadium-sized drums. Closers 'Swimmers' and 'Just Kids' give hints of beach-combing Real Estate pop, the atmospheric shoegaze of Cocteau Twins and Spiritualized, and a dash of Britpop attitude. In their essence, they display the uniqueness of a young band emerging fully formed, rapidly honing their many influences with supreme confidence.