Album Review

Gift Lions – Indian Summer EP

• 14th Mar 2012

In those fleeting moments of much-heralded British sunshine, it is important to pick your listening pleasures wisely.

Thankfully, Connecticut born Jordan Blatchley, in his guise as Gift Lions, has got that covered for you, debuting 5 tracks of hazy, warm audio breeze, on the aptly titled Indian Summer EP.

Opener, Enough Said, glistens with its simplicity, capturing the catchy surf-pop sound of The Drums and stripping it of their overblown theatrics, showcasing Gift Lions musical approach of going back to basics and allowing for the focus to shift to a songs atmospheric tones, as on the down-tempo and Doves-esque All and Watersong.

The sprawling, near 8 and a half minutes of Brighton Beach give a refreshing take on the resurgence of singer-songwriters and Mumford style folk as the slightest twist of psychedelia chimes out before the calming lull of a tide slowly moving into shore eases us into the delightfully gentle Running that rounds out the release.

An ethereal glow washes across the EP, capturing a lo-fi dreaminess seen through rose-tinted glasses and creating a sound that is nostalgic, yet timeless, perfectly encapsulating the essence of the Instagram generation that use latest technology view the world through retrofitted filters.

And perhaps this trend for sentimentally is befitting for a collection of songs released on limited edition cassette by fledgling North London label Njord, although those that have long since abandoned their Walkman for an iPod can also find the EP as a more socially acceptable mp3 download.