There’s something incredibly comforting about a good lo-fi song. It feels organic and close in a way that even the very best studio-produced music never can. It’s hard to do well, which is why final versions usually sound better than demos and why words like “rough” or “distant” don’t usually inspire people to listen.
But that’s part of the charm – that the line between some folks in a bedroom with a laptop and that transcendental moment of unshorn perfection.
Night Lights – Mighty Narwhale
To get an idea of what I mean, check out this track. It starts with a buildup that makes my heart soar. And while the rest of it is nice enough, it always feels just a little a bit disappointing because it can’t quite live up to the potential of that first glorious minute. If I ever needed a soundtrack to my life, it could very well be the first 55 seconds of this song.
The Mighty Narwhale are from Michigan and make pop music with horns, windchimes, and handclaps.
These Are the Eyes – Bodies of Water
Far more exuberant, but no less soul-touching. This evokes a room full of friends smiling, crying, shouting, laughing…all of it in the throes of a passion too beautiful to be subject to clean lines or delineations. It’s not as polished as an I’m From Barcelona or Polyphonic Spree, but it rocks in a way those (good as they are) never really could. This is the sound of people who really mean it, who are singing with all the strength and conviction they can muster, staring into the blinding light and refusing to blink. There’s the escalating call-and-response, and when it ignites at the 3:43 mark, you almost think you can touch heaven.
Bodies of Water are based in LA and are probably the best indie-gospel band in existence.