Beach Sloth

Southern Shores - New World – EP 6.9

                Southern Shores is sonic optimism. Every song is scrubbed clean. The clarity is refreshing. Little details can be heard so nicely. Pop hasn’t been this happy for a while. ‘New World’ contains as much happiness as its short running time allows. Wordless songs begin the album, filled with crisp bits of early 90s pop dance pieces. Bands like ‘Saint Etienne’ and others are an obvious influence to these melodies and approaches. Percussion-wise it uses the barest of elements to propel these song. 

                Innocence is the main theme throughout these songs. Twee is effectively mixed with the dance elements to create a child-like sense of wonder with the world. At times this can be an overdose of sweetness but generally it is endearing. ‘Marazul’ embodies much of what follows it: generally wordless as it builds itself into an efficient little song. ‘Breathe’ gives off the impression of a trance-pop song left alone for too long. It captures the sound particularly well, down to the keyboard sound. ‘Sankasa’ possesses the greatest sense of calm as the song takes its time. Eventually it transforms into a strange sing-along. ‘Flashes’ is probably the sweetest track on here. Heavy pitch modifications make it similar to a lot of takes on modern pop music. Plus the melody adds to this sense of tribute. 

                This is a lot of happiness to take in for one sitting. It is unified. Songs flow into each other. Sunshine is in each one of these bright, joyful pieces.