Summer's Kiss: Self-titled

By Kevin Liedel

The California-based, progressive rockster outfit known as Summer's Kiss is more collaborative than cohesive unit, what with identities that are about as ambiguous as their dreamy music. Their self-titled release is an anonymous, synth-driven blend of otherworldly sounds and Laguna Beach surf music, conjuring up images of teal-drenched oceans and neon-infused late nights. Singular and repetitive, Summer's Kiss does progressive for the post-punk crowd, and while much of their ambient style is hit or miss, there's an indelible charm to the freedom with which they infuse their craft.

Summer's Kiss's trademark is a dizzying blend of washed-out fuzz, drum machine taps, and swirling, cloudy synths that briefly enter and then exit without nary a key change. It's rather uncomplicated stuff as far as instrumental approaches go, but perhaps that's the point. If nothing else, Summer's Kiss is about quick respites into fantasy - clips and riffs rather than epics.

Much like their name suggests, the band offers music that is much like summer itself: pleasant, warm, heady, and all too brief. The introductory "Tender" is a perfect example, as its bleeding sine waves and faux electric guitar sounds ease in and out over a digitally-snapped beat, only to end long before the three-minute mark. Subsequent track "Lavish" is similarly brief, and though engaging with its whining, circular surfboard refrains, the song sticks around only long enough to include some enigmatic sampling.

The only long spate is "Flow and Release," a track that is true to its prog rock masters, winding and droning on in a six-minute opus of overdriven ecstasy. At times directionless and tepid, "Flow and Release" would have been better regulated to one of the album's briefer moments, while other tracks - especially the concluding majesty of the eponymous "Summer's Kiss" - would benefit from expansion.

As it stands, Summer's Kiss (both the group and their work) is missing a final piece in their pursuit of instrumental excellence. As of now, the pleasant array of sounds serves as nothing more than a backdrop, rather than the experience themselves. The members of Summer's Kiss would be wise to take note of Explosions in the Sky, a similarly dreamy set of instrumentalists who have made quiet moments into grand listens.

Reviewed - August 1, 2009 by Kevin Liedel, MuzikReviews.com Sr. Staff

** 3.5/5 Stars

Tracks:

  • Intro
  • Tender
  • Lavish
  • Plush
  • Divine
  • Flow and Release
  • Summer's Kiss

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