Lauge - Sundays

[abasio]

Lauge

Sundays

Divine Balance Records

20 March 2008

Downtempo

 

Tracklist

 

1 Verbed Shower (3:26)

2 Limonada (9:44)

3 N.A.M.E. (5:39)

4 6th Avenue Phone Booth (4:30)

5 Ruhezone (3:37)

6 The Peace Treaty (6:59)

7 Dub Rubber (Mattias Ek Remix) (7:24)

8 Winter Look (3:37)

9 Moving Ocean (6:54)

10 Up North (5:10)

11 Ophelia's Song (Lauge's Lunch Mix) (3:41)

12 Lunar Nature Resort (Outro) (2:18)

 

This just sort of came out of nowhere for me. I was intrigued by the lush cover, the psychedelic coffee mug look too enticing and I expected some kind of psychedelic lounge music perfect for relaxing on a sunday afternoon and that is exactly what I got, a dubby chilled out melodic album that is great for chasing away those back to work blues that can creep in on a sunday afternoon. It's soft soothing melodies and warm beats make for a great ride.

 

1. Verbed Shower

We start with a nice gentle beat tripping along pleasantly under a warm melody and plops of water like a leaky roof. Imagine sat in a conservatory on a cold sunny sunday looking out over the garden, the newspaper left unread and the heater blazing. This track would be perfect for that situation. A nice, if short, start to the album.

 

2. Limonada

A much longer track here clocking in at nearly 10 minutes but it's 10 minutes of bliss. The soft ambient atmosphere, tribal beats, flute and even the birdsong give this a really ethereal floating feel. The guitar earths it well & so I feel like my mind is flying high but my body is sat on the coast watching the ocean. All the little trippy sounds that come in and out of the background sound like secluded beach sounds, my favourite being some kind of scuttling sound like a large crab walking over the rocks. When the melody comes in it is so joyful and melancholic that it takes the track in a whole new direction, a slightly darker tint comes over the music and as the elements leave and we are left with just the atmospheric synths I feel a sense of loneliness. The laughter of a child, a tight synth line and the reemergence of the beats make this merely fleeting and we are back on a sunny shore enjoying the beautiful day. Like a moments sad nostalgia in a bright future.

 

3. N.A.M.E.

More from the seaside but with a lighter feel like I'm moving over the ocean, the flute like melody just seems to carry me out over the rolling waves and far far away to a distant land. The tribal chant sounds to me like a native American Indian chant and it instantly brings me crashing down to Earth, the ocean now just a distant roar in the background. The more human elements to the fore but the ocean is always lurking like it could flood back in anytime, a nice feeling I think.

 

4. 6th Avenue Phone Booth

A situation intro puts us right into the city. The sound of birds is unlike it is in the countryside, more rushed. The footsteps and the door opening followed by the operators annoyingly flat sickly voice asking us to call again. Then the beat drops and the melody comes in with a much more urban feel that the previous tracks but no less relaxed. Like lying down in central park, the skyscrapers visible but further away than there relative distance. A nice warm track, the vocal is odd but fitting like a passing stranger attempting to talk to you, unlooked for but not unpleasant.

 

5. Ruhezone

The sound of the ocean is back (one of my favourite sounds in the world that I never tire of hearing in real life or in music) and the beat has gone to a slower more tribal sound, or at least less urban. I get a much colder vibe from this track, the beats, the slow metallic synth and even the voices used are cold and a even a little dark. The melodic element, namely a short chiming sound while bright and warm only seems to accent the coldness, like the sun on a sunny winter day.

 

6. The Peace Treaty

This is one of those tracks that has all the right elements, a nice melody, cool beats a lovely relaxed ambient synth but there is just a tiny piece missing. Something is not there to give it a breath of life. It is pleasant enough and does no harm in the album but I find myself struggling to concentrate on it with outside distractions becoming suddenly more important and if there are non then inside distractions.

 

7. Dub Rubber (Mattias Ek Remix)

For me this doesn't have all the right elements but somehow fits together a lot more nicely. The dubby feel is almost reggae with it's dancehall vibes very softly appearing in the background. The melody is patchy and sporadic but it sounds a lot more welcome when it does come in. The beats are harder and less relaxing but sound cooler somehow. The breath of life lacking from The Peace Treaty is heightened by the life that is breathed into this one. I am thinking that it is the psychedelic background sounds that are scattered throughout that does. Not the best track on the album but a nice trippy buddby number.

 

8. Winter Look

Not sure what is so wintry about this short track, the birdsong is very much in line with spring in my mind and the samples.... well I'm not sure about the samples they could be from any time of the year. The melody is quite warm if a little melancholic and the beats are heavy but slow. I'd say autumn beats, spring birds and a late summer melody. Not a bit of winter in here. Nice track though, the samples are not sustained enough to get on my nerves and are muffled enough to add a nice trippy edge when half asleep.

 

9. Morning Ocean

This track is great. Possibly the best track to have a South Park anyway. The sample of towelie being so high is just about recognisable. It took me a few listens to be able to pinpoint what it is and although it sounds like it would be incredibly cheesy it is put in well, muffled and short so I'm sure most people would miss it. As for the rest of the music, it's all top notch. What sounds like a very simple guitar melody and hollow drums make me feel like I'm on holiday. There is a lack of psychedelic elements until towelie enters, then the atmosphere becomes a little spacier and other barely heard but extremely trippy sounds come in like falling meteors on a summer's night. Great stuff.

 

10. Up North

Another dubby track that is very pleasant but doesn't really go anywhere. The birds in the background appeals to the nature lover in me but that's about it. The beats are nice, the backgroud drone is decent enough but apart from a few sporadic attempts at melody there is non but there feels like there should be. Don't get me wrong I love tracks that are totally devoid of meldoy, but this track feels wrong by their absence. It's just a bit boring.

 

11. Ophelia's Song (Lauge's Lunch Mix)

This track is too upbeat. It totally derails the feeling created by the rest of the album. It could easily be put into a club DJ's house set. It's pacey, cheesy and to be honest it's crap. I am sorry to say that this track is well out of place and is easily skippable. No idea why he made this but I am confounded as to why he put it on this album. He should have made a seperate album named Friday Nights with the Girlfriend as that's what this reminds me of. Pop club shit that a lot of girls like.

 

12. Lunar Nature Resort (Outro)

A great ending though, lovely spacey melodies, wamr bubbling sounds and just about nothing else. Nice outro.

 

 

All in all then this is a very safe buy if you want some warm summery dub perfect for relaxing on a Sunday afternoon. Not every track is a hit but most are between good and great. Only the penultimate track Ophelia's Song is sub par but man does that track suck. Really really out of place, cheesy and just plain wrong! Though that shouldn't put anyone off buying the album, it can be easily skipped and even deleted if you put it on an MP3 player Especially the longer tracks are really really nice

[Maden]

I really like a lot this release, soulfull and very nice melodies. Limonada is my favorite, right that melodies used here are a bit childish and easy to perceive, but it"s anyway a great please each listening.

I have to explore more and more, to possibly complete my judgement.

 

The cover reflected well the music inside, chillish and hot ambiance to peace the sundays.

 

Nice work

[p(sy)ayam]

such a good, relaxing album. it cheers me up everytime i listen to it, and yes it is perfect for lazy sundays