I don't know about you, but so far, spring has been dragging along in the most uninspired way. The past week or so has seemed like one continuous Hump Day. My first line of defense against a sluggish period is food. Barring food, it's music. This week just so happens to bring the latest synth-y release from Australian alt-pop band Strange Talk, and the perfect antidote to spring ennui.
Strange Talk is a four-piece band from Melbourne, Australia who formed in 2010 and self-produced "Cast Away," the band's first full-length album. The album is a heady electro-pop endeavor that is simultaneously intimate and anthemic in its polished chaos. Like many artists today, Strange Talk plays seemingly contradictory sounds off each other. As a result, "Cast Away" sounds both old and new, irreverent yet oddly cultivated. The use of synthesizers and muddy vocals recall '80s pop, yet song structure and contemporary dance beats keep yet other songs solidly in the present.
Recorded in a farmhouse in Castlemaine and a beach house in Mount Martha over a spring-summer stretch, the spring-summer mood really permeates the album. "Cast Away" highlights the ups more than the downs, playing earnestly into the spirited, upbeat vibes of long summer days and touching upon the pulsing, hot nights.
Preview the full album, which hits stores today, at Billboard.com.