‘MIAMI’ by DRONGO is a bit of a head-scratcher when trying to label (and labelling music is what it’s all about!), but my instincts say that it’s a sort of shoegaze / synth-pop crossover. Whatever it is, it’s a lot of fun, and a really impressive debut from the boys from the Isle of Wight. Duo James Pinfield-Wells and Ellis Durand have crafted a dreamy, swirling song that travels along at high-pace whilst still managing to seem pretty chilled out. Comparisons to DIIV make sense, but there’s also nods to the likes of Day Wave and Her’s through the spacey, chiming guitar tones and boxed in vocals.
Everything is absolutely soaked in reverb and delay, meaning that the track sounds incredibly layered and deep in texture despite a relatively minimal amount of instrumentation actually present. Whilst a touch more clarity to proceedings wouldn’t go amiss, the overall production is stylistically on-point and simple with its message.
The track ends with a fade-out, which is a pleasant blast from the past to my mind, and also a decision which complements the bubbling fade-in at the start. The combined affect is the feeling that the track is stuck in an endless loop, aided and abetted by the dream-like nature of the song. Very interested to see what these guys can rustle up next.
DRONGO’s debut track ‘MIAMI’ is available now, via Organ Records. Buy on iTunes here.
