Across two self-released EPs, Melbourne songwriter and producer Andy Szetho – aka Soft Powder – has steadily developed his craft for making ethereal, late-night dream pop.
With debut album Somewhere Like Paradise – which we’re premiering here at Music Feeds before it officially arrives tomorrow (8th April) – the former Storm the Sky guitarist’s vision appears fully realised, building on those early explorations and drawing their strings together to form a coherent debut LP.
From the first moments of opener ‘Are You a Shooting Star’, Szetho builds a lush, shoegaze-influenced soundscape of reverb-heavy guitars, glistening synths and lo-fi electronic beats to croon above.
Cuts like ‘Close Your Eyes’ and ‘Douse the Flames’ recall the nostalgic pop of New Order and The Cure, atmospheric and driving in equal measure. As much as Szetho creates layered, textural sonic worlds on these songs, they’ve also got a defined sense of rhythm to them; melancholic cuts that dart between the dancefloor and alone in one’s room.
“These eight hazy pop songs are the culmination of all of my past experiences and influences,” Szetho says of Somewhere Like Paradise. “This is the album I’ve always wanted to make, which is why it was important for me to challenge myself to compose, produce, mix and conceptualise the entire project from start to finish.”
Listen to Somewhere Like Paradise in full below.
