Gazey dreampop is definitely on the rise these days – which inevitably means that a lot of bands will be churning out stale, trope-drenched albums that you’ve likely heard a thousand times before. That is in no way the case with Melbourne’s Pearls. The members of Pearls are masters of juxtaposition: each of the EP’s four tracks expertly crafted, but so is the placement and order of those tracks. “Wait & See” opens with a rush and pulls the listener into a mesmerizing soundscape. Reverbed guitars ring out in slipping riffs studded with nuanced accents, while the drumtrack constantly pulls forward with a heavy ‘2&4’ beat; over all of this, though, are compelling vocals harmonies that are eerie, droney, and starkly beautiful. It’s surprising, then, that “Hey” begins with almost tropical slide guitar – the track shifts multiples times from the comfortable ‘shoreside cabana’ sections to booming, blossoming ‘rainforest’ sections where the sound is more menacing, more powerful, and this struggle solidifies in the push and pull of tempo in the final moments. Again, though, Pearls plays in its favorite suite, and “In Your Arms” takes the listener off that tropical island and sits him/her in the seat of a speeding Camero, sometime just after high-school graduation. So when “I Will Never Know” starts counting out a strangely reverent march, when the guitar starts to wail in dives and bends, you feel it that much more. The beat marches on, the sound collapses, the amps squeal, and what you’re left with – what I was left with – is a feeling that this album brought you somewhere, used that juxtaposition to take you through the sort of development that most LPs (never mind EPs) can scarcely do. Sit back, turn up Pearls, and take the ride. You won’t be sorry.

NO NOT THESE PEARLS YA DOOFUS