This Los Angeles shoegazey dream-pop act has been floating around my radar for a few months. A friend recommended them, and I’ve sort of dabbled in their offerings, which amount to a few singles and EPs. There’s not a lot of material. But it’s still pretty intriguing, if you’re into the melodic moody bursts of noise and reverb, contrasted with wispy vocal ethereality. Anyway, I decided to give them a whirl this eve., seeing that they’re playing the Echoplex this Friday with genre mainstay Tamaryn.
As mentioned, Orchin’s got a handful of tunes, some dreamier than others, while a few stray into harmonic cacophony. The one I seem to be landing on is titled “One,” which adheres more to the latter guitar-slung warp-o-holic wall of alternately tuned sound. It probably owes a bit to legendary predecessors My Bloody Valentine … or if we’re sticking closer to home, something along the lines of Medicine. Either of those is good company, as far as I’m concerned. But I guess that all depends on taste. And not everyone’s ears find solace in the aural echo halls of sculpted feedback and discordant discourse.
“One” from the 2016 EP “One / / If I Ever.”
If that’s not your thing, I’m gonna recommend another option, which leans a little less on the noise, and more on the melody. This one’s called “If I Ever,” and I guess I’d call it a pop song, but I think that might be an over-simplification. It’s definitely a bouncier affair, more aimed at the uptempo and uplifting, yet still sticking to the dream-gaze template. The guitars chime with jingle-jangle, steeped in the requisite deep delay. And although brief, under three minutes, it power puffs its way through a blissful burst of sunny songcraft. “If I Ever” is also the B-side to “One,” or whatever the digital equivalent of that is.
“If I Ever” from the 2016 EP “One / / If I Ever.”
I’m kind of surprised these guys don’t have a full album release yet. They seem like they’ve got the makings to carve out a space in the indie shoegaze and dream-pop shelves. And although they’ve only got a handful of songs, they have a pretty decent grasp on listenable yet loud songcraft. It’s a fine line to balance, but Orchin seems to be strutting along just fine.
I’m hoping they sound good live. Their music seems suited to the stage, and a proper decibel-raising sound system. If all goes well, I’ll follow this post up with another that covers their upcoming performance. In the meantime, enjoy “One” and “If I Ever” from Orchin.
