It's All Aquatic

It's All Aquatic

Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon has a new label, Chigliak, with a mission to rerelease good music that's slipped through the cracks. He's kicking things off with Amateur Love’s 2003 release It’s All Aquatic, an artful electro and indie rock album featuring Megafaun's Phil and Brad Cook. Following a 49-second intro of avant-noise, “Con/A Sewer/Cat” emerges with icy synthesizer architecture, hyperactive drumming, and androgynous vocals that recall a young Brett Anderson from the band Suede. In the following number, “(Absolute Fiction),” slightly detuned guitars give the song a '90s indie feel, à la Pavement or Sebadoh, providing a nice contrast to the sleek keyboard tones and gender-bending vocals. The pointed and angular arrangements in “Numbers” bring to mind bands like The Postal Service and Foster the People before the standout song “Gradfadhadya” serves as a reminder that sometimes a classic combo of guitar, bass, drums, and vocals are all you need with a tune this catchy (though the keyboards taking a peripheral role add a nice garnish).