Everything about the title to Echodrone’s latest album fits. ‘Five’ is the San Francisco outfit’s fifth album, they have five band members and on this evidence they would certainly make the top five of many best of shoegaze/dream pop lists too.
Opening up with the kind of vintage synth intro most commonly associated with Boards Of Canada, the whispered vocals and crunching guitar soon add menace to disturb the serenity. It may be an incongruous way to start but the song evolves into something special as all the initially disparate layers form a lovely melodic whole. Satisfyingly muscular rhythms and a dense framework of slow-building guitars or the cornerstones which guide ‘Falling From Planes’, ‘Motion Pictures’ and ‘Glacial Place’ towards classy shoegaze territory. Amongst other highlights, On ‘Noise Bed’ the angelic tones of Rachel Lopez take centre stage as they are set against lilting key changes, ‘When The Two Ends Meet’ pushes and drives towards euphoric places whilst ‘Less Than Imaginary’ relies on a fairly simple but addictive hook.
Some intensity is lost a little towards the conclusion of the record but otherwise Echodrone provide good value over an hour’s worth of expertly-produced music. Throughout, they exhibit similar qualities to long-serving British act Engineers, steadily forming sumptuous layers of carefully cultivated sound whilst searching for (and often finding) the perfect tunes.
Web Sites:
Echodrone Official Site
Echodrone on Saint Marie Records
Echodrone SoundCloud
Further Listening:
Engineers, Her Vanished Grace, Slowdive
Leonard's Lair Music Reviews 
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