Bleep

On their third full-length, Californian band Gardens & Villa rediscover their love for piano, guitars and vocals. Arriving via their long-time label home Secretly Canadian, Music For Dogs marks a clear departure from the dance-focussed approach of 2014’s Dunes: instead, the group have redefined their style as psychedelic synth rock with a notion of shoegaze. With only core members Chris Lynch and Adam Rasmussen left in the lineup, the album also reflects their relocation from Santa Barbara to a warehouse in Los Angeles and the urban decay they felt they were thus exposed to. The staccato piano chords and reverberant falsetto vocal lines of ‘Fixations’ are reminiscent Bradford Cox’ work – yet there’s an idiosyncratic sweetness to their melodies, whether or not they’re titled ‘Happy Times’ or ‘Alone In The City’. It’s these ambiguities that make Music For Dogs their most profound effort to date.