Gardens & Villa

Dunes (Secretly Canadian)

After a three-year layoff, Santa Barbara quintet Gardens & Villa return with sophomore effort Dunes, 39 minutes of frontman Chris Lynch’s airy vocals wrapped in a haze of synth. He enchants with a smattering of flute interludes, juxtaposing technology and nature on the astral “Chrysanthemums.” Hypnotizing beats (“Purple Mesas”) jump-start nerve endings, “Avalanche” winks at disco, and Lynch’s delicate falsetto steals the show. The muted intro to “Minnesota” serves as a momentary reprieve from the mounds of bubbly electronics, helping the crew avoid overdose. They’ve clearly outgrown the indie rock of their eponymous 2011 debut, dialing up the grooves and down the strum. Dunes ends on “Love Theme,” trapping the built-up energy and releasing it in a wordless electro musing. (1:30pm, Orange stage)

***

This article appears in November 7 • 2014.

A note to readers: Bold and uncensored, The Austin Chronicle has been Austin’s independent news source for over 40 years, expressing the community’s political and environmental concerns and supporting its active cultural scene. Now more than ever, we need your support to continue supplying Austin with independent, free press. If real news is important to you, please consider making a donation of $5, $10 or whatever you can afford, to help keep our journalism on stands.

SUPPORT US