The new Amber Arcades album, Barefoot on Diamond Road, retires prior folky elements and runs with a denser, darker, and more cinematic color palette—akin to the expansive, orchestrated pop of Frankie Rose and Melody’s Echo Chamber. The sonics and lyrics vacillate between giddy excitement and apprehension.
After remastering, expanding, and re-releasing their back catalog, they proffer the fourth entry in the Switched On series, a sprawling omnium-gatherum of rarities recorded between 1999 and 2008. Electrically Possessed is full of agreeable eccentricity: buoyant beats and blubbering synthesizers; enchanting vocal utterances and bass lines that fit together like Sudoku puzzles.
Listening to Tell Me What You Miss The Most is like spending the day with Tasha. The Chicago songwriter’s second album, which infuses earnest indie pop with smooth R&B. Between the bookends of “Bed Song 1” and “Bed Song 2,” Tasha walks us through lakeside contemplation, self-care, and the poignancy of reflecting on a past relationship.