{"product_id":"dunes-lp","title":"Dunes [LP]","description":"After releasing an album in 2011 that was nice but not very distinctive, Gardens \u0026amp; Villa changed up their strategy enough to make their 2014 album Dunes a huge improvement. Still playing a wistful brand of indie pop with synths that are in turn dreamy and pleasant, the group turned to former DFA member\/renowned producer Tim Goldsworthy to add some punch to their sound. His production gives the Dunes a snappy bounce that was definitely missing on their cleanly rendered debut, taking the uptempo tracks straight to the dancefloor. The slower, more introspective tracks have a hazy stickiness and soft rock sweetness that send them right to dreamland. The album is split between the two, almost in an alternating fashion that gives it a choppy feeling and helps each track stand out. The increased energy and attention to sonic detail is very nice, but without songs that work, it's just a fancy package with nothing inside. Luckily, the band respond with some really catchy, hooky tunes that synch up well with Goldsworthy's production. The best of them -- like the very '80s synth pop track \"Colony Glen,\" which gives Christopher Lynch's warbling falsetto a perfect spot to roost, the snaky \"Bullet Train\" that shows off the nocturnal side of the band and has some smooth synth sounds, or the pulsating dancefloor filler \"Avalanche\" -- are easily on par with most of the bands they've been accused of mimicking in the past. They show off a nice touch on the album's piano ballads, too, with both the aching \"Chrysanthemums\" and \"Minnesota\" displaying a welcome spot of deeply felt emotion to go with the chillwave detachment that pervades the rest of the record. Dunes is a perfect match of band, songs, and producer that works almost perfectly and should mean that the days of Gardens \u0026amp; Villa being compared to their peers are over. If they make more albums this good, other bands will soon be compared to them instead. ~ Tim Sendra","brand":"InnerSleeve","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42036602437797,"sku":"656605029412","price":30.95,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0612\/6007\/1077\/files\/48ef871deacdd75f5d2445cb8aa0a486.jpg?v=1780830946","url":"https:\/\/www.innersleeve.com\/en-au\/products\/dunes-lp","provider":"InnerSleeve","version":"1.0","type":"link"}