Sacramento trio Best Move make music that's both elegant and full of retro charm. While some of the band's new EP, Mirror Image Twins, sounds like it owes a debt to Air or Jon Brion, there's more here that's fairly distinctive and affecting. The Park The Van release is one of this week's better surprises.
"Out of Touch" gently eases into a listener's soul, a hint of Sakamoto and Sylvian here, while the brighter "Invisible Sigh" blends a throwback appreciation of synth-pop with a decidedly modern directness that renders the New Wave on this one unironic. Elsewhere, the superb "Mirror Image Twins" unfurls with the precision of a piece by John Adams. It's a wonderful bit of music and one of the best individual tracks I've heard in months. Things close with the Air-like "A Phrase", a neat melding of chamber pop and electronica.
Best Move favor a minimalist approach to what can be fairly lush in spots. Rather than lean on a unforgiving austerity, the trio puts stock in making this music as emotional as it can be, within the restrictions of the style here. Mirror Image Twins is a gem.
Mirror Image Twins is out on Park The Van records.
[Photo: Marc Kallweit]