Author Archives: Timothy Hudson

It’s rare these days that you come across a group of musicians that don’t want to be recognized in some way for their hard work, but such is the case with Black Light Dinner Party—a quartet of four anonymous producers all hailing from the United States. Their music is pure electro-pop, and—despite operating off the gimmick of mystery—it displays a rarely found maturity.

Their first single, “Older Together,” is a gorgeous, melodic track. The opening crystal synthesizer oddly evokes memories of “Sprawl II” by Arcade Fire for me, which—while brilliant—is also dangerous, in that before they have even established themselves they can be compared to a mature band such as Arcade Fire. Their second single, “Small Boxes,” won’t draw any comparisons to more established bands, but it is fantastic nonetheless. Operating with a lovely crystal-y refrain, it’s an infectious and catchy track with some fantastic hooks that ultimately leave you satisfied with the experience as a whole.

Black Light Dinner Party – Older Together

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Black Light Dinner Party – Small Boxes

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Listening to Gardens & Villa, a band from Southern California (Santa Barbara to be precise), it’s hard not compare them to other successful indie-rock/psych-folk outfits such as Local Natives, who also hail from Southern California. That isn’t to say that they made bad/derivative music—in fact—it’s quite the opposite; they make damned fine music.

“Black Hills” is an excellent example of this. Starting out with a minute long medley of synthesizers and instruments that are vaguely reminiscent of a more lightly arranged LCD Soundsystem song, it escalates into a soaring lead vocal and some absolutely delightful harmonies.

Gardens & Villa, the group’s self-titled debut album is available now via Secretly Canadian.

Gardens & Villa – Black Hills

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