Honestly, this week can’t end fast enough. Even the pleasure of seeing
Christina Martin and
Matt Charlton
play to only a few close friends last night doesn’t cushion the impact
of the work week I’ve suffered through. Throw in another overcast, grey
day here in Halifax and it’s not surprising I’ve continued to leave the
new LP from
Luxury Pond on repeat lately.
Luxury Pond is the vision of
Dan Goldman with percussive and vocal support from
Daniela Gesundheit.
The duo is heading out East and playing small spaces in an effort to
showcase the subtle percussion and tenderness of melancholic tracks
like
I Don't Believe You and the xylophone/acoustic infused
The Bones, but their self-titled LP is much larger in sound and scope.
Dan paired his delicate melodies with the
Owen Pallett arranged,
St.Kitts String Quartet
and the result is full of life. Instead of adding an overpolished sheen
to the mix, the strings actually breathe life and spontaneity into the
tracks, soften the impact of the sadnessand allow Dan and Daniela to
focus on vocal interplay and mood.
I could easily jump into
discussion about the intelligence of the recordings or the lushness the
band creates, but the thing that really impresses me is that even with
the comfort of perfectly arranged strings, the duo doesn’t use the
quartet as a crutch. Dan and Daniela treat the strings like just
another element and I think that will show when the band plays smaller
shows. Whether its the picked riff and dual vocals on
Your Truest Nature, but never overpower the track and
Dear Shark lets the strings enrich the vocals and to provide depth.
Luxury Pond is an ambitious project, but not one that drifts too far to the artistic side of the equation. Make no mistake, these songs are pop songs... meticulously constructed pop songs, but pop songs none the less. Luxury Pond is bringing their unique sound to Halifax for some house shows, but will also be playing
July 4th at the Company House.