Turquoise Sun

Turquoise Sun EP

Written by: BV on 22/07/2015 20:13:38

I first stumbled upon Turquoise Sun when they were brought into the 2014 Copenhagen Psych Fest lineup in the very last minute. I had no impression whatsoever regarding their musical style and, to be honest, I don’t think a brief listen would have prepared me for the sensory assault the band provides. Now, the band has released a se self-titled EP and it perfectly encapsulates every single strength and, unfortunately, weakness the band possesses.

Opening with the title track, the listener is immediately bombarded with a sensory overload by the plethora of different sounds creeping out in a danceable explosion. It’s almost a progressive rock song in its own right, as the pounding bass constantly drives the track in a danceable direction, whilst synthesizers and guitars create controlled outbursts of melody or intriguing hooks around every single corner – perfectly supplementing the quite mesmerizing vocals. If anything, Turquoise Sun have made the most of the sounds and production available to them – it’s rare to hear such a well-produced and organic soundscape on a debut.

“Tunnel Vision” adds some exuberant playfulness to the mix that is welcome, but should really be moderated into much smaller doses as the mind-bending intro in itself became somewhat tedious by the end. The track itself works fine, but unlike the title track it simply seems self-indulgent and unnecessary for it to display such a wide array of sounds within a 5-minute long song – leading to something of a confusing listening experience I could imagine would dissuade some listeners almost immediately. The band fares better on “I Got Time” which displays a highly funky side of Turquoise Sun that I wouldn’t really mind hearing more from – even though the prog-like instrumental noodling could actually be condensed into a more tight format so as to keep things interesting throughout.

Which actually brings me to the very core of my ambivalence towards this self-titled EP; Turquoise Sun are highly skilled at creating funky, crazy and mind-bending sounds – but they seem to have trouble distilling these sounds into songs that are not only instantly gratifying but also memorable - I did all four songs when they are on my stereo, but it seems to me that the moment they fade away from my speakers, they fade away from my consciousness – meaning they have yet to develop that certain quality that makes them memorable. I’d really like to see Turquoise Sun develop that side of their music, because they certainly have the skills and the sounds to create something really cool here.

6

Download: To Beat or Not to Beat, I Got Time
For The Fans Of: The Flaming Lips, Pond, Tame Impala
Listen: facebook.com

Release date 11.05.2015
Self-released


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