After the worst winter of all our lives, the golden sun of summer is again rising over Chicago, its warm rays sweeping over the land and emanating from your speakers—if you're spinning 'Pastime Gardens' on your stereo. The first album from Windy City duo Slushy, this collection of glittering, top-down tracks evokes images of beaches, waves and bikini-clad babes. Its reverb-laden, two-minute pop rippers are marked by gritty guitars that jangle along to the thump of a kick/snare rhythm section and lively lyrics of songs with names like "Summertime Girls" and "Fun in the Sun."
While Slushy's past endeavors are stripped-down Garageband-and-laptop works of lo-fi garage pop, 'Pastime Gardens' benefits from a decidedly mid-range production. Here - a beautifully layered sonic mosaic bursts fourth, blooming red, white, blue and yellow, like the flowers adorning the album's fitting cover art.
Yes, the Death Winter is now nothing more than a distant memory, and summer 2014 is gearing up to be epic—and this album is a fitting soundtrack for the warm months ahead.
Buy it here from Grabbing Clouds Records.
And just because we're feeling a little nostalgic over here at VoT, here are some photos from that one time last summer when Slushy played and HoZac DJed at Bric a Brac Records. Photos taken by Joe Montanaro of Why Pick On Me?, Uh Bones, The Rubs etc. fame.
