Last week, hypnagogic pop duo Oro Swimming Hour shared their new album Pterodactyl. The project is a collaboration between longtime friends Oliver Wilde and Nicholas Stevenson, artists who have each found success through other creative channels: Wilde with his other project Pet Shimmers (who recently supported Alex G on his Europe/UK Tour), and Stevenson with his artistic work that has earned him a nomination for the 2022 World Illustration Award and has been published in the New York Times, Radio Times, and others. Mastered by Warren Hildebrand (Orchid Tapes (Fog Lake, Alex G, Soccer Mommy), Foxes in Fiction), the 20-track release is composed of short songs and home recordings, retaining a sense of whimsy and wonder throughout. Wilde and Stevenson explained their inspiration behind their sound:
Oro Swimming Hour is a reflection of the earliest moments in which you begin to make music. The more you learn how to make music, the more of the mystery and magic you reveal.
Though it was difficult to choose just one track to write about here, I knew it simply had to be the colorful stunner “Milk Toast” based on how many times I returned to it when listening to Pterodactyl. It is a synesthetic dream in every sense of the word; immediately opening with beautiful, otherworldly synth work akin to cool, iridescent wind passing through a harp, and closing with a fiery, jagged guitar solo that sounds as if it is pointed towards the sky, the magic remains intact and consistently gorgeous throughout. The lo-fi vocals, calling out through this woven tapestry of sound, are earnest and smooth, a stunning contrast that keeps everything from floating into the ether.
Pterodactyl is out now via Gold Day Records.
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photo courtesy of artist
kid with a vinyl 