New Chain (2010)

 

chillwave lovers

Formed at the tail-end of 2008 as a bedroom recording project, Small Black first made waves with their eponymous debut EP. Recorded in the attic of singer Josh Kolenik's uncle's remote Long Island beach-house/surfboard workshop, it served as an ideal introduction to the group with its pulsing patchwork synths and addictive, stay-gold hooks that seemed to unfurl themselves gradually over repeated listens. Slightly more immediate and polished than its predecessor, Small Black's new album New Chain remains a continuation of this contrasting ethos – a delirious smudging of the lines between melancholy and nostalgia, tension and celebration, unabashed pop music and experimentation. "It's always been a question for us," explains keyboardist/songwriter Ryan Heyner, "of how much to push it, how much to reveal. I find a lot of the best music creeps up on you." (Jag Jaguwar)

Small Black - Search Party by fearurself