Raindeer does consist of three lads - Charlie Hughes (vocals, synth), Devin Byrnes (synth), and Beau Cole (guitar, bass) - coming from Baltimore, Maryland, a town being once home for Animal Collective. Vis à vis with Collective, besides the trio`s aesthetical heritage originating from similar (post-)psychedelic breeds and DIY-based conceptions and lo-fi-infused common ground their start, however, is not a less impressive opening at all compared to the very launch by Avey Tare-Panda Bear circa 10 years ago, more concretely, being soaked in a rousing mix of electronics and indie pop and subtly nudging at their boundaries and zones. Yet, those 6 tracks of the debut issue are remarkably more extrovert and pop-oriented encompassed by broad yet intelligent postures and caustic keyboard (under)currents, the kind of reminiscent of those played up by the English innovative pop group Space in the last years of the Britpop-era (the track The Green Lights), and MGMT as well. Of course, there can be found out some similarities with the later-era Animal Collective, which drove some obduarate Collective`s fans to despair (Dark Place). On the other side, fortunately, Raindeer is able to avoid this kind of ostentatious artistical shelves cranking out of emotions being anchored at a subject`s genuine sensitiveness. No doubt, the trio is able to master crafty pop numbers, for instance, the ending This Is My Last Transmission which at the outset is intentionally restrained to come off into a catchy even hysterical explosion.
A solid debut, indeed.
Listen to it here
9.2
