My Thinking Face – Lonely Times – from the ep; Holy – 2016 – My Dear Recordings
More new sounds from Paris this week. My Thinking Face is a French band with a new ep out via My Dear Recordings, the label founded by Pamela Hute. Lonely Times is the fourth track on the ep, and its gentle melancholy, capped with spacious harmonic voices makes this a compelling track for repeated listenings. There is a hint of Sunshine Pop tucked in here – with emphasis on vocal harmonies and rich melodies with a mixture of acoustic guitar and synth to create a warm atmospheric landscape. It is reminiscent of those milestone recordings of Curt Boettcher from the mid-60s where the craft of a finely sculpted piece of music held a listener in suspended animation for the length of the song.
I admit to not knowing very much about the band, other than they are from Paris. Looking at their Soundcloud page, they’ve been around for at least two years, but this ep appears to be the first one for My Dear Recordings and was released only this last September. I would be very interested to hear what they sound like in a club or concert setting.
In the meantime, I would suggest heading over to their Facebook page, as well as their Soundcloud page and their page on My Dear Recordings. Pick up this new ep, Holy and listen to it a few times – sit with it for a bit and let it get under your skin. If this ep is any indication of what they are about, I have the feeling a good word-of-mouth will spread. Fingers crossed the musical powers-that-be via Radio feel the same way and their music gets out to a wider audience. In the present atmosphere of musical confrontation and searing tonal excursions, this quiet and contemplative set of songs is a lovely respite and a welcome addition to the record library.
I don’t believe there are any plans for My Thinking Face to perform in the U.S. anytime soon – I don’t even know what their gig schedule is like in Europe at the moment. All I know is, they are a band to keep tabs on and see what they are up to in the coming months.
