Atlantic at Pacific - "Weddings"

Santa Cruz's Austin Wood, aka Atlantic at Pacific, is another bedroom producer making beat-heavy and often dreamy pop music. Because of his talent and unique spin on the genre, though, Wood is making a name for himself - a name that doesn't get lost among his like-minded contemporaries but is already distinctive, memorable. And the title track from his full length Weddings, out now on Alchemist, is an exemplum of Wood's trademark sound.

Atlantic at Pacific - "Weddings"

"Weddings" is quite the deceptive track, however. First of all, the song opens with seemingly dark guitar work, similar to that in Liars or even New Order, but quickly transforms into an ethereal, lighter-than-air synth number. Throbbing beats follow shortly, and the track is "carried home," as they say, by a mean bass line and what sounds like a delightfully unexpected and Balearic-inspired xylophone breakdown.

Secondly, it's deceiving because some pretty amazing things happen in barely over two minutes. In other words, I didn't expect such a powerful mood and interesting instrumentation and arrangement in an arguably short amount of time. Vocals are absent, but there's no need; "Weddings" is stunning without them.

Deceiving or not, "Weddings" was definitely a pleasant surprise in my inbox. Is this sound chillwave? Hip-hop? I'm not really sure. But I do know that I like it and want to hear more. Fortunately, more songs can be found here - enjoy and spread the word.