A/B, by Darien Shields

A/B

by Darien Shields

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bandfan25 A wonderful surprise record! Shields doesn't miss with this tribute to lo-fi DIY bedroom pop. Favorite track: Perfect Reminder.

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1.	Alarm 00:22
2.	Nice Smoulder 03:35	buy track
3.	Pillow Princess 01:34
4.	Fire Sale 03:37	buy track
5.	Step To 03:21
6.	Different Hours 01:07	buy track
7.	Breaktime 03:16
8.	Company man 02:40	buy track
9.	Y Filter 02:52
10.	Weak End 04:18
11.	Perfect Reminder 03:08

about

After completing his series of 7 albums celebrating the various years of the 1990's before Y2K fervor and aesthetics took over culture, Portland via Seattle producer Darien Shields is back with a new collection of songs. Eschewing samples that defined his previous albums, this new release "A/B" is a collection of lo-fi pop and bedroom songs with a distinctly Pacific Northwest haze.

Taking inspiration from the vaporwave tracks he laid his vocals over on previous albums, these pocket tunes feel like they are dug out of a synth pop and hypnagogic treasure chest hidden in the attic. With melodic references to classic pop ("Pillow Princess") and retro dance music, the album takes an intimate approach to churning techno ("Fire Sale"), lo-fi house ("Step To") and ambient IDM ("Y Filter"), all captured to 4-track cassette.

The grainy nature of this album lends it a vaporous character, which is no surprise considering Darien Shields' participation in the Vaporwave and Internet Music Scene. However, the closest point of comparison might be the works of Owen Ashworth aka Casiotone for the Painfully Alone and artists from the early 2010s bedroom pop movement on Orchid Tapes. The homespun songs and instrumental explorations are stripped down to their core and bathed in warm tape hiss.

Darien Shields has always leaned on a persona to create a larger narrative for his work- even down to the name, which references an iconic Sailor Moon character from the 90s. He slips in and out of stories, auditory sensations, and melodies with a cloying earnestness that recalls early hypnagogic and vaporwave artists like 18 Carat Affair, Dreams West and Whitewoods. While it might not be a capital-V Vaporwave album, "A/B" is a look into the intimate and nostalgic process of making electronic pop songs without all the glossy technology that permeates the Internet Music Scene today.

-Alyx P (Pacific Plaza Records)

You can also pick up his previous album "Platinum Phantom" on our Bandcamp: pacificplaza.bandcamp.com/album/platinum-phantom

credits

released June 9, 2023

Recorded and Mixed by Darien Shields
Artwork by Darien Shields
Mastered by Matthew Montez

Pacific Plaza Records #103

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Pacific Plaza Records California

Electronic music & Vaporwave on cassettes, vinyl, & CD

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