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In the liner notes for this album, married bandmates Jason and Luisa Gough thank their young child for sleeping through the recording sessions (which took place at home); I have to believe that the sounds filtering into the kid's room must have assisted with bedtime, rather than disrupting it. On their second disc for Words On Music, Coastal bring us more gentle, spacey indiepop lullabyes. Still present are the echoey, delicately strummed guitars, subtle basslines, and lightly brushed drums, highlighted here and there with accentuations like strings and plinky keyboard bells. The Goughs' boy-girl vocal harmonies still call to mind Alan and Mimi of Low, and there are some instrumental bits that are reminisent of Low songs like "Anon" as well. For me it's very interesting how this navigates a hazy territory where sometimes it registers as pop and sometimes it kind of slips under your conscious awareness to become ambient music. Which is not a criticism at all, and it's equally dreamy in both modes. This is a lovely, moonlit album, as delicate, subtle, and soothing as Sleepytime tea. (mike.02.05)
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Most people I know hate getting promos, and I'll agree that sometimes it's a waste of postage and bubble-wrap mailers. (Come on, why send me a promo of some death-rock metal band?! Do you people even look at the website before sending CDs?!) But sometimes, a promo can introduce you to some wonderful band that you honestly might not have ever found otherwise! And then the whole point of this site really comes into focus, as you're able to pass on the name and share the joy, so to speak!
And with that, I introduce you to Provo, Utah's Coastal. With their eight-song debut release, they bring us slow, languid washes of guitar work, quiet droning keyboard work, understated bass lines, all punctuated with soft, gentle brushing on the drums. It's all very gentle, delicate and atmospheric. Just so lovely! Lead vocalist Jason Gough has a quiet, low voice that's very strong and emotive; no wimpy indie-rawk whining here. And he's ably assisted by his spouse Luisa, whose quiet harmonies really fill out their sound. They totally remind me of Mojave 3, which is a huge compliment from me! I think they're music is a little bit too atmospheric to sound like Low, although the harmonies totally call Alan and Mimi to mind. You could also say they sound a bit like American Analog Set, especially on "Paris Radio". Check out the links below to sample some songs, and then order away! (janice.05.01)
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