Every once in a while a pop artist that comes up with a great album that gets (almost) universal praise. 2013 was Lorde’s, 2009 was all about La Roux. We could go back to excellent albums by Blondie, Eurythmics, Duran Duran, Metric, Milky Chance and so on.

Vogue Dots released last year a very fine 5-song EP that could reach masses with its beautiful simplicity and airy arrangements. “Toska” is a smooth venture into a dream world that’s soft and vaporous. The voice of Babette Hayward is somehow a mix of spoken word and repetitive mantras backed by smooth electronic sounds that can go down the industrial world (Thunder) when required.

The sound texture is unique on many tracks. It’s produced like waves, creating a moving canvas on which melodies hold themselves on (Mercy). Babette Hayward sings in a soft and enjoyable tone, sometimes with a bit of a retro feel (Turns and Turns) but most often by making sure her listeners are kept in a state of semi-coma. This way, the music of Vogue Dots sets in their sub consciousness and finds its way on that soft spot of the brain where relaxation lies. Both Babette and partner Tynan Dunfield produce the music the Vogue Dots emits. The duo hails from Halifax, Nova Scotia.

It’s only too bad the 5 songs only last 19 minutes as I would have listened to much more. Playing on repeat such a short EP makes it rapidly redundant. Anyways, Vogue Dots have great talent. We’ll keep an eye opened for upcoming releases.

vogue dots toska

 

VOGUE DOTS
Toska
(independant, 2014)

-Genre: airy indie pop
-In the likes of Via Tania, Florence + the Machine, Le Couleur

Purchase their EP on their BandCamp page
Follow the artist via their Facebook page
Listen to videos on the artist’s YouTube channel

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About The Author

Mélomane invétéré plongeant dans tous les genres et époques, Nicolas Pelletier a publié 6 000 critiques de disques et concerts depuis 1991, dont 1100 chez emoragei magazine et 600 sur enMusique.ca, dont il a également été le rédacteur en chef de 2009 à 2014. Il publie "Les perles rares et grands crus de la musique" en 2013, lance le site RREVERB en 2014, et devient stratège numérique des radios de Bell Média en 2015, participant au lancement de la marque iHeartRadio au Canada en 2016. Il dirige maintenant la stratégie numérique d'ICI Musique, la radio musicale de Radio-Canada.