Melbourne-based band Denim Owl represents the alternate guise of Janita Foley and Aleks Bryant of Aleks and The Ramps fame and sees them veering away from the indie rock stylings of their ‘main’ group, instead venturing out into dreamy downtempo pop coloured with the haze of reverb and vintage keyboards/electronics. This debut five track EP on Dan Lewis’ Special Award label represents their first recorded output, following their national tour last November as support to Maximo Park. From the very outset here, there’s certainly an emphasis on textural lushness whether in the case of Foley’s vocals, which come coated with an almost Hope Sandoval-esque level of gauzy reverb, or in the case of the ‘kitchen sink’ approach to instrumentation, which sees kalimba and even a choir making an appearance on the delicate, Spanish guitar-tinged ‘Kitten Gloves.’
Opening track ‘Fantasy Dog Sled With A Man’s Head’ certainly aptly sets the scene, with retro clicking drum machines providing a backdrop for Foley’s gauzy chanteuse tones, before live drums arrive to take things off in a far more jaunty pop direction that calls to mind one of Stereolab’s synth-drenched skiffle-pop explorations. Elsewhere, ‘Chattering Face (When The Hammock Hits Quartz)’ sees banjos lurking alongside clicking rhythms and swelling organ tones in what’s easily this EP’s most beautifully understated moment, providing a slight slowcore bluesgrass-y edge to Foley’s vocal that melts perfectly into ‘Red Leather’s collision of ebbing analogue keys, strummed melancholic guitars and yearning lyrics. An impressive debut EP that’s well worth exploring.
Chris Downton
