Au.Ra
Jane’s Lament
Felte Records
Street: 03.03
Au.Ra = JAWS + Beach Fossils
After two years of sporadic single releases, Au.Ra have shown up with their grabbing debut, Jane’s Lament. Their single “Sun” is clearly the figurehead in that it contains fistfuls of its two founding forces of psych-type pop and synthy surf vibes. The combo leaves them following in the footsteps of Wild Nothing, but with the light pop influence replaced with a drone/beach hybrid. This quality glimmers through in tracks like “Spare the Thought,” where drum rhythms simmer like boiling water behind foamy feedback. Instrumental piece “Juki” is a brief, kookier synth intermission to wake things up. Altogether, the album masters the general indie-synth sound it was doubtlessly influenced by, but differs by darkening up the dreamy tones. It succeeds as a debut, but also provides a stylistic basis for exploration. Plainly, it’s a pleasant listen, and good all the way through for casual grooving. –Erin Moore