Southern Shores are the latest Balearic-leaning group with a release on Cascine, a label following in the footsteps of Swede counterparts Sincerely Yours and Service. Sonically, the Canadian duo mine the same brand of nostalgia-flecked ecstasy as Air France or even the Avalanches, but the their choice of samples and propulsive rhythms trade in the lightheaded focus of those groups for something clubbier.
The summer mood of their Atlantic EP debut is largely carried on waves of optimistic major chord shifts, but there's an introspective, thoughtful quality to the production that lends enough depth to reward repeat trips. "Tangier Winds", for example, samples a grab bag of a cappella vocals-- including 1990s R&B smoothies U-Mnyd-- each contributing a distinct sentiment to what eventually becomes a cluttered conversation. The lyrical snatches are just intangible enough to add a heavy feeling of romance to a bedrock of lush keys and drifting bass patterns. The resulting effect is a satisfying tangle of jammed frequencies.
"Night Is Young" plays similar sampling tricks, but here the clipped vocals lose themselves in more propulsive surroundings. Unlike the relatively stable dynamics of "Tangier Winds", the momentum shifts gears throughout, carrying more of a disco palette than anything else on the record. There's a fun and hedonistic Salsoul vibe to the track-- Shep Pettibone and Cathy Dennis are among the samples-- an idea that feels just distinct enough to work as a worthwhile homage exercise as well as a blissed-out summer dance track.
Pretty much everything on Atlantic exists in a seasonal haze-- nobody's going to mistake this for anything but a record of summer jams. That tight focus may seem limited in scope, but it helps yield the EP's concentrated burst of sensation. And, while the majority of recent sun-drenched music's been concerned with retelling half-remembered feelings from the past, Southern Shores escape that vacuum by investing in the moment at hand: As the opening track title "Take Me Anywhere" suggests, this is music that not only wants to soundtrack your vacation, it wants to be your vacation.
