4/22/21:
Drench

One way to shoegaze involves scrims of distortion and an almost drone-like fixation on sound. Vola Tila prefers to simply loll while dreamy keyboard washes drolly pass. Do you prefer Galaxie 500 or My Bloody Valentine (these are not perfect examples, of course). Vola Tila is definitely playing on Team Dean.



Vola Tila
Soon
(self-released)


Well, except for the stunning melodies that trip out of the lushly spartan laptop pop feel. Am I being intentionally oxymoronic? Duh. Vola Tila plays with the idea of shoegaze pop even as it advances the theory.

The defining feature of this album is its beauty. Not drool-inducing, but rather a quiet, "did I just hear that?" sorta thing. The simple arrangements would seem to make it difficult to hide anything, but somehow stunning vista after stunning vista arrives just as it seems the road is, truly, headed nowhere.

Vola Tila demands patience. Its brand of gentle psychedelia is probably not attention-getting enough to grab the most hardened of ears. Ah well. Perhaps the meek will inherit the earth after all.

Jon Worley


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