Review Summary: One powerful little piece of dream pop bliss.
For the sake of being thorough, I decided to start my research of Australian dream pop act Arbes by starting with their debut EP
Swimmer from 2015. I immediately found myself drawn in by the trio’s unique style; the album might have been short, but it left a strong impression. Between the dreamlike atmosphere, the tasteful use of reverb-laden jazz chords, and an extremely tight rhythm section anchoring such beauty, the experience was true to the sunny nature of its cover art; in fact, the guitar playing was almost akin to surf rock in its tone. But make no mistake… this is dream pop and shoegaze at the end of the day.
Psalms continues the group’s brand of ethereal pop music, but it sounds more refined and well-written than its predecessor. From the very beginning, the music very quickly draws on one of the band’s biggest strengths: the chemistry between the members. The bass and drum parts are amazingly precise and meticulous compared to the reverbed drawl of the vocals and guitar, which creates a nice juxtaposition of moods. In fact, “Sintra” has a slight progressive edge to it; the nimble melodies of the guitar blend with the intricate drum patterns wonderfully, as the bass provides a sturdy placeholder in between. But once “Follow Towards” comes in, the overarching atmosphere of the album is immediately felt. Jess Zanoni’s rolling bass lines are perfectly complimented by Anita Agathangelou’s subtleties behind the kit, as Sam Pannifex’s guitar looms in the background to color the empty spaces. One neat trick the band pull here, however, is that they abruptly slow things down in the second half of the song to let the soothing ambience sink in much more.
As I stated before, Arbes have a penchant for basing their songs around Sam’s emphasis on jazz chords and phrasing, and
Psalms goes even further with this idea. Each song sees his guitar work fashioning a rich sonic tapestry of reverberated textures, swaying back and forth between precise math rock-driven melodies and ringing harmonies. The track that exploits his talents to the highest capacity would probably be “Fortunes,” alternating between cheery and melancholic tones seamlessly. Of course, I can’t forget the other aspect of the album’s atmosphere: Jess Zanoni’s vocals. Her bass work is fantastic, but her singing is what creates the feel of the record alongside Sam. Much like the guitar work, Jess’ voice is completely reverberated for effect; she creates an almost-intangible aura in the music, which is fascinating because of the more technical nature of her bass playing. “No Home to Know” is entirely driven by the sluggish crawl of the singing, as the other instruments are simply moving between two different keys; it’s commendable that she can make such an impression with such simple performances. Finally, we have the drumming of Anita Agathangelou (what a last name!), who is basically the one holding everything together. She’s the most technical and flashy member of the group, adding little fills and intricate parts to otherwise simple pieces of music. The title track “Psalms” sees her using the bass drum as a prominent anchor for the subtle snare taps and hits that blend with the other instruments, while “Fortunes” has a stuttering snare part that taps into the song’s sense of uncertainty and melancholy.
The biggest problem with
Psalms is that I didn’t want it to end, which still ends up being one hell of a compliment. The album is pretty short, at only about 25 minutes or so, but it’s 25 minutes I don’t regret spending in the slightest. With two short recordings under their belts, it’ll be interesting to see if Arbes eventually create more of an LP-length statement in the future and flesh their style out a bit further. Their brand of dream pop is incredibly unique and beautifully crafted, and I genuinely hope they don’t leave anytime soon.
