Velvet Sun
Empire
Flotation Records
South Florida-based indie-rock outfit Velvet Sun releases their new EP, Empire, which sees the band melding atmospheric textures and driving rhythms.
Made up of Scott Weinkle (vocals, guitars, drums), Eric Gould (keyboards), and Marcel Salas (bass), Velvet Sun released their first album, Dreamhome, in 2001, an avant-rock exploration. Whereas Empire reveals edgier, at times shoegazey guitars and hints of psychedelia awash in dreamy, gritty surfaces.
The title track’s gleaming layers of lysergic guitars shift between gliding overlays on the verses to tightly compact, grainy veneers on the chorus. For some reason, the feel and flow of the melody summons up memories of Thin Lizzy with its elusive tints of country rock. Weinkle’s vocals imbue the lyrics with wistful tones, giving the tune a dreamscape sensation.
There’s a glam-rock sensibility to “Star,” a retro-flavored rocker propelled by Thin Lizzy-like guitars that thrum, bite, and elongate, infusing the harmonics with growling energy that takes on luminous sharpness.
“Wonder” conjures up suggestions of Foreigner, especially when the guitars go all granular, while the vocals float overhead on otherworldly tones, bathing the lyrics in almost surreal aromas. The juxtaposition of stony guitars and spectral vocals offers an unusual yet welcome contrast.
Perhaps the best track on the EP, “Wait” features jangly guitars atop a contagious rhythm. The feel of the song is quixotic, while the flow presents aspects of dream-pop allied with SoCal folk-rock. The roll and sway of the layered harmonics are wonderfully mesmerizing.
Delivered with scrummy brio, Empire is an unmissable entry into the annals of indie-rock dipped in an omnivorous collage of atmospheres atop pushing rhythms.
