Iowa City duo Goldendust seem to have found a happy home on Night People. At the end of last year, Rose Quartz brought the band to our attention in spotlighting the label owner’s year-end list. “After The Smoke Grew Thick” is a cut from their upcoming Night People LP, slated for release this summer. We enter a bleak, immersive atmosphere suffocated by thick clouds of smoke. Distant, sorrowful vocals might bring comparisons to ’80s dark wave bands, or even the affectedness of fellow lo-fi experimental pop Midwesterner John Maus. The contrast between the light, melodic portamento synth of the foreground and the heavy, analog synth beat of the background is well suited to the storyline, which describes a haze of confusion. It’s the perfect soundtrack for oppressively hot summer nights when the air becomes nearly too thick to bear, yet too enticing to avoid.
Goldendust, “After The Smoke Grew Thick”
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Words: Mary Katherine Youngblood
“After The Smoke Grew Thick” also appears on the label’s recent, freely downloadable Deluxe Double Fold Compilation. Grab Goldendust’s recent Digital Skies cassette from Night People
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