Sobrenadar – Y
Operating in a similar dream pop hazy world as Slowdive, Boards Of Canada and Four Tet, hailing from Argentina and singing in her native Spanish, Sobrenadar creates gentle soundscapes which waft out of the speakers and grab your attention in the most subtle way possible. She’s already had remixes from the likes of Gwenno, Xam (from Hookworms), and Slowdive, and ‘Y’ seems to blend dream pop with electronica seamlessly. No idea what she’s singing about as my Spanish isn’t great, but with delicate keyboard sounds and subtle electro drumbeats, it’s one of the most relaxing albums I’ve heard in ages.
‘Inhabil’ has echo chamber drenched guitar notes, creating a beautiful backdrop with Sobrenadar singing gently over whereas ‘Punto De Partita’ has more if an electro, dystopian feel with crashing yet subtle synth sounds, with those hazy guitars picking out a melody over the top. ‘Par’ has synths sounding like crystals breaking with delicate drumbeats join in before darker tinged synth chords go tip toeing in to add some moodiness to proceedings.
Many of the songs on here are like classical pieces, intertwined with electro beats, guitars, and someone singing gently in Spanish. You don’t even need to understand every word, the atmospheric landscapes conjured up by Sobrenadar do the job just fine. ‘Cruce’ has more ethereal sounds with a slightly harsher feel with synth sounds like an orchestra of crisp packets opening, whereas ‘Eje’ has more crystal tinkling synth sounds over lush synth pad sweeps. A lot of the songs on ‘Y’ wouldn’t sound out of place in a film as the end credits to a Scandinavian crime drama series. They have that ethereal delicate beauty about them.
‘Y’ is a perfect soundtrack for gazing idly out of the window waiting for that bus or train journey home. Maybe piping this over the tannoy on the train commute might calm us all down, won’t solve Northern Rail’s train issues but it does a good job of keeping me calm while waiting (and waiting, and waiting) for the train on a dull Mancunian day. Sobrenadar has created an album that’s not full of immediate hooks and melodies, but one of serene beauty. One for the daydreamers.
Release Date 21st September 2018 (Sonic Cathedral)
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From the early days of creating handmade zines, in a DIY paper and glue style, interviewing bands around town, then pestering Piccadilly Records to sell them, to writing for various independent mags such as Chimp and Ablaze, writing about the music I love is still a great passion. After testing the music industry waters in London with stints at various labels, being back in my hometown again, writing about this city’s vibrant music scene is as exciting as ever. All time favourite bands include Sonic Youth, Nick Cave, Patti Smith although anything from electro to folk via blues and pysch rock will also do nicely too. A great album, is simply a great album, regardless of whatever musical cage you put it in.
