thebunk

Cannot recommend this enough. I have the Captured Tracks box set from a few years back and have to say this is a steal for $25. Highly recommended for anyone into Dream Pop, Post Punk, New Order or the sound of bands like Wild Nothing/Beach Fossils/Craft Spells/etc. I posted about this album earlier in the week in the Shoegaze thread. Check it out here: http://boards.vinylcollective.com/topic/103509-shoegazedream-pop-thread/?p=2385548

I will likely blind buy this. Their last full length is great and their EP from last year is so underrated. "Lines of Latitude" is one of my favourite songs from last year. A lot of people have written off the "Chillwave" bands that are still around though I think Small Black have, and will continue to keep putting out great music though I am admittedly an unapologetic dream pop/Chillwave fan.

Have pulled the trigger recently on the following: Pre-Orders: Yumi-Zouma 12" EP Collection with 5 Year Cascine Anniversary pack (Tote, TShirt, Cassette Mixtape) Pure Bathing Culture - Pray for Rain LP + T Shirt Bundle Other Pickups: Slowdive - Souvlaki MOV Re-issue Beach House - Depression Cherry House of 909 - The Children We Were Brett - Brett

Your description nailed it. Definitely in between Ride and Slowdive vibes. Thanks for sharing!

Better hurry. Cascine posted that they are almost out of their run on the coloured blue swirl then will only have black which I think is limited as well.

MOV put out some Slowdive reissues. Reminds me I really need to get my hands on Slouvaki.

Yeah I love the new single even if it is not as dreamy as their older stuff. The band has said that it is "more organic" and the songs are not treated with many effects after the fact so it will be interesting to hear the direction of where they go. I think I am going to preorder the album and tshirt they have up as a bundle. More details are here for those interested: http://shop.partisanrecords.com/products/pray-for-rain-lp-t-shirt-bundle

Pure Bathing Culture - Moon Tides Pure Bathing Culture are a duo who's music epitomize the Dream Pop sound. Their 2013 album "Moon Tides" is easily my favourite Dream Pop full length of the past three years. The lead off track and single "Pendulum" basically sets the tone for the entire album and the band do not stray too far from that sound. Acoustic and clean reverbed electric guitars are the primary instrumentation with fairly simple beats anchoring the sound in the background. While there is the odd synth sound through a lot of tracks, it does not envelope the sound unlike many in the genre. The key element is definitely Sarah Versprille's vocals which are front and center in the mix and really carry all of the songs on the album. You can purchase Moon Tides and pre-order their new album "Pray for Rain" here: http://shop.partisanrecords.com/products/buy-moon-tides-by-pure-bathing-culture-cd-lp Check out my favourite song on the album "Dream the Dare" below:

abovetheearth \ alligatordogtaco (great names by the way): I would say of the recommendations I posted, Yumi Zouma is the best of the bunch in terms of being my ideal example of great Dream Pop; its catchy, has that hazy\spacey sound filled with 80s nostalgia and clocks in under 4 and a half minutes. My guess is if that does not float your boat then the genre may not be for you which is cool. Different strokes for different folks.

Thanks again! Really trying to space things out because I know what it is like to bombard a thread with a ton of recommendations / YouTube links and it is just becomes too much. My next recommendation will be from a band who released my favourite Dream Pop album in the last 3 years so stay tuned!

Hey no shame in what you like and dislike. Everyone is different and while I LOVE Shoe Gaze, Dream Pop as a specific music style gets thrown into a bunch of different genres. A lot of time it is rolled up into other genres (see the title of this thread as an example). I think because when a Shoegaze/PostPunk/Indie band does a "softer" / ballad style of song, it is very easy to go with the dream pop crutch. Due to this, I have tried to focus on artists that stay in this genre or those that have released an album specifically is this genre (ie The Wake). Anyway, thank you very much for the feedback. It is refreshing to get a mature response with respect to a topic that one may not enjoy but seemed to give it a genuine shot which I do appreciate. Cheers.

Yeah that is a bit dramatic. 80s tinged, yes. Gloria Estefan? WTF?!

The Wake - Here Comes Everybody + Singles The Wake are one of those bands that started out as a group that blended in too much within their scene upon inception and then almost overnight, became too ahead of their time without really any home at all (for a while anyway). Their music would go on to influence an entire record label (Sarah Records) along with many within the Captured Tracks stable (Wild Nothing, Beach Fossils and Spell Crafts have all covered The Wake on special 7" releases for the label) along with countless other artists. The Drums proudly proclaimed that they started their band with the goal to mould their sound after The Wake. So why is it that that band had only gained attention from small pockets of fans scattered throughout 4 decades? After a self-released single, the band signed to Factory Records and released their first full-length record (Harmony) sounding like a Movement-era New Order release. After a few line-up changes and the release of a few singles, the band went back to the studio to release what would become the best album of their career, the 1985 release "Here Comes Everybody". The album takes the early New Order and Cure influenced post-punk sound and then introduced a dreamy quality. Hushed, reverb filled vocals and angular effects-laden guitar lines were complimented with synths that just hovered in the background. Some of the songs fit the standard pop timing (i.e. World of Her Own) while others would float past the 6 minute mark which album highlights "O Pamela" and "Melancholy Man" are a prime example of. The album admittedly is not filled with immediately catchy songs but is really more focused on establishing a mood and as a whole, works wonderfully. It is easy to see how the atmosphere that they created has influenced Jack Tatum of Wild Nothing. Check out "Melancholy Man" here: Not only did the The Wake help innovate upon the Dream Pop blueprint but they also practically invented the sound of the jangly indie dream pop sound with the release of one song; "Pale Spectre". Pale Spectre proved to be an even bigger leap forward for the band with not a hint of their former post-rock sound left. Pale Spectre is pure shimmering dreamy pop with a bounce and sweet angelic vocals; a sound that bands like "The Field Mice" and "The Pains of Being Pure at Heart" would further develop and make a career of (this is not a bad thing by the way). There are a number of other great songs they would release as well as singles such as "Gruesome Castle" and "Plastic Flowers". Have a listen of Pale Spectre" here: If you can find the Captured Tracks reissue of Here Comes Everybody + Singles, it is very much worth it. It collects the HCE LP on one vinyl and then the crucial singles on another (also comes with a sweet 12 x 12 booklet as well).

I hope that people do not mind me posting these recommendations in here and at least a few people are getting something out of it. I am doing my best to space out the posts as pages of YouTube videos is no good for anyone. Anyway, if people want me to continue, I will probably go next with a band who really innovated the sound that it's forefathers (Cocteau Twins, New Order/Joy Division, The Cure) helped establish. Their approach took them from being just another post punk Factory band to having an impact on everyone from Wild Nothing, Beach Fossils and an entire, influential record label.

It is a great release (actually just pun while here at work on Spotify). Full disclosure, I bought the vinyl off of the band's site and the shipping packaging was not the best. As such, my copy and a big bend on the right hand top corner (I mean a bend of around 3 square inches). So buyer beware...

Postiljonen - Skyer Pound for pound, there is no bigger producer of great pop music in the last 15 years then the country of Sweden. The amount of great artists across different genres of pop is pretty ridiculous when you begin to take stock of those that reside within its borders. Whether it is Balearic Pop (Tough Alliance, Studio, Air France), Indie Pop (Acid House Kings, Jens Lekman), Mainstream-ish Pop (Robyn), or Dream Pop (The Radio Dept.), Sweden has become the unequivocal capitol of pop (at least in my eyes). Postiljonen is a band that takes their influences from a lot of their countrymen and creates their own brand of Dream Pop. The band dropped their debut "Skyer" in 2013 and it was criminally overlooked with the exception of a handful of blogs who championed them. The album is a bit interesting in the sense that some songs may feature more non traditional instrumentation that would be used in the genre (i.e. saxophone) or start off whispy and hazy only for the chorus to kick in and the song almost becomes a bit of a banger. That said, the band does not stray too far from their blueprint however and singer Mia Bøe's hushed vocals keeps the band firmly rooted. You can purchase their record on their site here: http://merchworld.se/products/hybris-records/2985/skyer-postiljonen-2 Check out their reworking of Whitney Houston's "How Will I Know" in the album highlight "All that We Had Is Lost".

Ha you beat me to it. Shipping is high to Canada as well but these two EPs (plus the Air France cover) are all great. Also this is limited to 500 copies so I would grab a copy if I was in the US. Hell, I will likely pull the trigger anyway.

Yup. The whole film is great but that scene + the Just Like Honey are iconic.

Yeah Brett is straight up pop for sure with the "dream" quality a bit less a part of the overall sound then say Yumi Zouma where it is a big part of their overall sound. My next pick will be a bit more dreamy and will feature an artist from a country that has put out some of the best pop music (within many genres) in the last 10 years. Any guesses?

Yumi Zouma - Self-Titled \ EP II Ok so apologies up front on two things. First, (as mentioned in a previous post) for posting a back-to-back artist on Cascine. I was going to hold off but "poweredbytrust" brought this band up so I felt like now was the time. Second, for the fact that the first of this band's two EPs is almost impossible to find and the second (which was released earlier this year) has already sold out on Cascine and will likely be harder to track down in the coming months so best to grab it while you can. Yumi Zouma is a New Zealand \ Brooklyn \ Paris based band who have made a big mark on the Dream Pop scene within the last 16 months having released two great EPs on 10" in that amount of time and having garnered well deserved buzz from some of the more trusted blogs and press out there (i.e. Gorilla vs. Bear). Every song is damn near perfect but their first single "The Brae" ranks up there as one of the best Dream Pop song ever. The band seem to be marked for great things as they truly seem like the complete package from songs to aesthetic. I mean, look at that cover art for their first EP I posted above! Anyway, check out their Soundcloud page below as well as the video to the aforementioned "The Brae" below: https://soundcloud.com/yumizouma

Thanks for the rec on Teen Daze and as well for the feedback.I was thinking about posting about Yumi Zouma as their 2 EPs are some of the best Dream Pop of the last two years. Also did not want to do two Cascine artists in a row for fear of being accused of working for the label / on the take. Too bad both EPs are out of print and the first one cannot be found anywhere (EBay or Discogs) though I was lucky to grab one last year. Great band though for sure.

Trigger pulled on signed edition

So if the consensus things Dream Pop should go in here, and since this thread has not seen much action in the last few days, I thought I would post a few recommendations to see what sort of response I get. Brett - (self titled) My first recommendation is the 2014 self-titled release by Brett on Cascine, one, if not the best label out there today for Balearic\Dream Pop\Electro Pop releases. Brett is not about re-inventing anything, but he (or she) does a great job of capturing the best that the genre can offer in the way of three and a half minute hazey pop tunes. You can order the release here for $16 USD + shipping: http://shop.cascine.us/product/brett-brett Check out the lead off track "Chalon" which is very representative of the whole album:

My point is that if this thread is dominated by Shoegaze bands, why would anyone want to contribute a well thoughtout post of a great Dream Pop album to check out for it to only be swallowed up by posts that have nothing to do with that topic (in my opinion). The fact is if Sarah Records and The Wake have not been discussed ad nauseum in this thread then something is amiss. Anyway, not wasting any more breath on the matter.

If there is no interest and if people truly believe that, then I will not waste my time, pure and simple. Regardless of what you say, there is little Dream Pop discussion in this thread outside of Beach House, a few Captured Tracks artists and a bunch that do not belong in either of the genres in the title of this thread.