Neon Indian - Deadbeat Summer
I will be the first to admit that I am extremely late to the chillwave party, but in my defense it’s rather difficult to get into fuzzy, chilled out music when you are wearing two jumpers, woolen socks, and find yourself gathered around a gas heater trying to stop your blood from freezing. Having some distance on the whole phenomenon where every band with a dancy, lo-fi sound was getting buzz, I think that one of the true talents that has emerged from the pile is Neon Indian. ‘Deadbeat Summer’ is unabashedly retro, with the sound that wouldn’t sound out of place coming from a overplayed cassette tape blasting out of a boombox. Whereas a lot of chillwave artists seem happy to let nostalgia alone carry a song, Neon Indian’s clear love of pop music allows him to build something unique and creative out of the rubble of the past, instead of using it simply as a crutch.
If you like what you hear, check out the Imaginary Summer mixtape carefully constructed by my friend Jay over at Mix Lovers International, which has many other great chillwave acts like Javelin, Memory Cassette, and Washed Out.
