Autocamper

It’s already a banner year over at Slumberland, and I’m still playing catch-up from just the last couple of weeks alone. The label lifts up excellent UK indie-pop outfit Autocamper for their proper debut this month. The band started out with early singles for the label and a comp cut for Prefect, which is a pretty sterling start to any band’s resume. The record mixes the melancholy end of the jangle spectrum with a few notable nods to the span of decades past, swiping softness from the ‘60s and a winking spark from the late ‘80s/early ‘90s. Much like labelmates Jeanines, the band doesn’t shy away from sprinkling some folk touches into their jangle, and side-A fave “Red Flowers” dips through Free Design and Curt Boetcher touches. The flute surfaces again on “Map Like A Leaf, skipping generations to wink at The Pastels before they lean back further into their indie instincts with nods at Felt and The Feelies.

Also holding them apart from many of their contemporaries is a consistent thread of organ, again surfacing some Felt comparisons, but the band shies from mere homage and uses the instrument as just one in their quiver of quiet wonders that take the pop charms from their early bedroom brooders and weave them into colorful, technicolor studio stunners. The band slips seamlessly between portions of the past, stitching a pop tapestry that feels effortlessly refreshing. Stacked harmonies, jaunty jangles, those aforementioned organ swells, flute trills, and the crisp crack of drums make this feel like a pop collector’s dream; a indie-pop headphone wonderland. I love the kind of record that can’t be fully absorbed the first time (or two) around, ant Autocamper have definitely dropped and indie pop debut to beat this year.

Support the artist. Buy it HERE.