Eternal Summers – Gold And Stone
Eternal Summers have a bit of wet rep as – let’s face it – indie-pop is hardly the angriest of genres. It’s undeserved though as, perennially overlooked and undervalued, theirs is a thoroughly charming strain given backbone courtesy of powerful hooks and choruses, which means the Virginia trio’s sweetness rarely gets too sickly, its breezy edges often roughed up with distortion.
Gold And Stone is Eternal Summers’ fourth LP together and, just as its delightful predecessors, most of which have featured on [sic]’s coveted end-of-year lists, it’s an album that has a real knack for candy-coating its punch. Lead single “Together Or Alone”, for example, takes seesawing guitar chimes for a post-punk wander, Nicole Yun’s pretty dream-pop vocal contorting into a shouty chorus that brings Los Campesinos! to mind. Proving themselves once more as masters of throwaway jangles that just keep nevertheless creeping back up on you, the title track punctuates Yun’s coo with pretty guitar segues borrowed from the soundtrack to Real Estate’s summer vacation.
Eternal Summers aren’t interested in ripping up the rule book and Gold And Stone is a dreamy stream of lullaby melodies that passes in just 30 minutes. Doze at your peril, however, for no matter the blissful strumming and pastoral flutters on a track like “Come Alive” there’s never far away a sun-dappled noise-pop solo ready to let rip. Ominous markers such as these culminate in the wistful “Black Diamond”, Yun’s more urgent vocal stirring deep waters beneath gathering clouds, claps of thunder eventually ringing out during the closing track. Big guitars for a big finish in order that Eternal Summers, if not with rage, will at least not go gentle into the night.
Best track: “Together Or Alone”
~Gold And Stone is released June 1st 2015 via Kanine.~