One Track Mind

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Brim Liski, whose eponymous debut EPwas released last week on Latenight Weeknight Records, is a little brief when it comes to biographical information. From their shadowy press photos to their record label’s vague history, the duo seems to be cultivating a bit of mystery in regards to their origins. However, given their association with Latenight Weeknight, the Colorado hometown on their Myspace page, and their shoegaze-meets-electronica sound, it’s safe to say the band has some connections to Denver neo-shoegazers A Shoreline Dream.

That connection is an appropriate starting point for trying to pin down the band’s sound, what the band themselves are referring to as “dance doom,” with other suitable orienting points including the gothic guilded electronics of Depeche Mode and Massive Attack or the open skies navigated by Bel Canto and This Mortal Coil.

On “Fight,” Brim Liski’s lead-off song, the proceedings commence with a glitchy drum machine track, a warm tide of translucent synthesizers, and a deliberate guitar melody. When the vocals enter, they do so with the same lightness as the synths, as spaced out and heavenly as those of forbears like Slowdive and The Cocteau Twins. The interplay between these elements is both cohesive and atmospheric, with the rest of the track floating on according to the template. While “Fight” doesn’t offer much in the way of surprises, it does capture a particular sound beautifully. Fans of artists such as Ulrich Schnauss or Syntaks will feel at home with the soaring, blissed out textures of Brim Liski.