Saroon - Grounded / People Are Just Made of Dreams
SAROON RELEASES ‘GROUNDED / PEOPLE ARE JUST MADE OF DREAMS’
Portland, Oregon-based psychedelic soul outfit Saroon recently released their two-part EP, Grounded / People Are Just Made of Dreams, reflecting the complex moods of romantic relationships, from the burgeoning thrill of bloom to the electrifying thrill of intensification to the emotional devastation of collapse and termination.
Saroon | Photo: Antonia Basler
Explaining the EP’s juxtapositions of light and dark, Ayal Alves, the band’s songwriter, says, “There’s always the element of hope to it, and an acknowledgment that the nature of reality is that there is pain and suffering. The relationship between those two things is a transformational process.”
The two parts of the EP correspond to Earth and Air, weaving sonic filaments of each into exquisitely hued concoctions of sound and pressure.
According to Ayal, “A song might be despairing but taken into the context of everything else, there’s always the ability to self-actualize. I believe that the truest form of us...the byproduct of the truest form of us, is love.”
The bassline on this track rolls with scrummy fat pops of thick bliss transitioning to the swooshing, hazy tones of the second half of the song, echoing elongated waves of lysergic tinctures.
Recorded and mixed in Portland at Destination:Universe by Victor Nash, Saroon is made up of Ayal Alves (multi-instrumentalist), A Walker Spring, Neal Wright, and Ethan Fox Tucker.
Encompassing six-tracks, the EP begins with “What Remains Here?,” which opens on luminous colors flavored with kaleidoscopic surf-rock textures, infusing the tune with a tasty retro new wave savors.
Entry points include “Julie,” traveling on new wave SoCal soft rock coloration driven by jangly-hued guitars riding a delicious rhythmic flow. Ayal’s voice, a delightful tenor, delivers easy-going timbres backed by radiant harmonies. The bassline on this track rolls with scrummy fat pops of thick bliss transitioning to the swooshing, hazy tones of the second half of the song, echoing elongated waves of lysergic tinctures.
“Boxcars” opens on sparkling aromas of ‘60s pop surfaces underscored by alt-country-lite streams of sound. Soft, almost doo-wop harmonies imbue the tune with low-slung shimmering washes.
Both innovative and alluring, Saroon blends retro coloration, hints of new wave tangs, and psychedelic elements into superbly original music.
