Pure Bathing Culture: “Ivory Coast”
I get pretty with a lot of today’s wishful nostalgia for the smooth, velvety pop of the eighties. Even during the eighties I often got the impression: “How could music go so wrong?” Now, of course, we have come full circle. And once again, whether ironic or no, smooth synth-pop is once again seriously taken as an art form.
But I digress. I was trying to write an article about Pure Bathing Culture, a Portland duo (consisting of Vetiver’s Daniel Hindman and Sarah Versprille) who wallow in the very sort of eighties nostalgia I profess to hate. I don’t hate PBC though—in fact, I definitely enjoy the sound of their new single, “Ivory Coast.” I don’t hear irony or eighties cheese; it’s actually guileless, straightforward pop. There’s no arched eyebrow, no cynical smirk. It’s straight up simple drum machine beats, guitar, and female vocals. And no, it doesn’t sound like Beach House, exactly. It is a marriage between the dream pop sound of today and yesterday’s wide-eyed pop (think Men Without Hats). Listen for yourself below and if you dig “Ivory Coast,” you can pre-order the forthcoming record from Father Daughter Records (officially out on 5/22).
—Jon Behm
