lavender’s textured “harlequin/los días azules” is good for the soul

With its shimmering strings and triumphant lyrics connected by layered samples, lavender’s latest track “harlequin/los días azules” is a breath of fresh air. Gospel and indie rock influences abound, lending a multi-layered sound supported by stacked harmonies and cathartic textures, and creating an all around transcendent and dreamlike track. After all, sometimes to stay sane you’ve got to chase those feelings, and it helps if you’ve got anthems like “harlequin/los días azules” to help along the way.

Influenced by the likes of artists across the spectrum from Elliot Smith to Khruangbin and J. Dilla, lavender is made up of long time music enthusiasts Oskar Rice and Adam Jackson. Having attended the same school in Amersham together, the resident school DJ and the indie band aficionado joined forces on their own musical mission. Now with the release of "harlequin/los días azules" they are one step closer to their debut album, we're having a barn dance, set for release on May 23rd.

"This track is the conclusion of the album. It is a reflection and triumphant end of a chapter, simultaneously looking back with fondness and forward with optimism, lavender explain. “It was the last track we made for we're having a barn dance, and benefits from hindsight providing some final musings and a level of resolve on the themes of the album.” The duo add that the new project is a step up from their earlier work as they’ve had time to experiment and perfect their sound.

Still, long time fans, don’t fret; the new collection of songs will still be distinctly lavender and rely more on atmosphere than story. lavender has always preferred to craft songs this way, using intentionally-structured textures rather than melodies and lyrics to relay their message. In this way, their songs are more like puzzles.

Their debut album will be no different. “At the start, I was like, I don’t want to be the singer…It kind of tied in with how I like to record and texture stuff, which was very inspired by a lot of soul recordings with their stacked backing vocals,” Jackson says. That’s exactly the sound fans like in lavender’s songs. Why fix what isn’t broken?