The music of Melting Steine may be made in a garage in the middle of Switzerland, but it has the power to transport listeners to a relaxing tropical dreamworld. On the outfit’s first recorded outing, Universal Crush, available now via Phantom Island, the group offers an oozy, woozy blend of chillwave, bossa nova, and jazzy lounge muzak. Although summer is over, there is still time to pretend it hasn’t with this sunny and warm collection of instrumentals perfect for enjoying a fruity beverage in a poolside recliner.
The album begins with “Dodge”, which feels like descending through the different levels of a lush sea-side resort via a glass elevator down to the lounge. There in the sunken living room of the lounge, under dim and mood-setting lights the house band entertains with a laid back instrumental groove. A lackadaisical and melodic guitar + keyboard line meander together through a reverberating drum machine beat. A flute floats up and quickly disappears once more. More starry and twinkling synths add flourishes and further fill out chords and movements while additional percussion is fittingly added by a set of bongos
Next we encounter the album’s only vocal performance on “Front Porch Days”. Sunbaked synth notes waver and drift away as an acoustic guitar strums while chorused vocals that are reminiscent of Mild High Club or Connan Mockasin, woo and soothe us into another hazy dream state. We again hear an acoustic guitar on “Gilde” which has another playfully catchy and melodic instrumental line accompanied by vintage synthesizers that could hold its own against any of the best songs from Mac Demarco’s recent instrumental albums.
Impressive guitar playing can be found throughout the record on tracks like “Endless”. The beds of dense synthesizers create the perfect canvas for guitar notes to color in with inventive and playful leads that descend, skip, hop, and move every which way in jazzy freedom. It is not hard to tell that lots of attention has gone into crafting both the instrumentals parts as well as the tones those instruments employ. An expert mix of echoing, chorusy, reverb-drenched sounds fill the sonic space of the album, creating an atmospheric experience. Like anything, there are exceptions, of course. The jazz samba tune “Wings” feels like something that could be found on the Bola Sete and Vince Guaraldi collaboration album From All Sides.
The album ends with “Inselmoment”, perhaps the most new age sounding and dissonant of the track list. A wah-wah wavering bassline mirrors select notes of one final sublime combination of guitar, synth, and drumbeat. Universal Crush is available now digitally and on vinyl from Zurich, Switzerland-based label Phantom Island.
Written by John Brouk
