Homeshake
Midnight Snack
Sinderlyn
Street: 09.18.15
Homeshake = Jerry Paper / Part Time + Connan Mockasin
The Canada scene has never been stronger. Homeshake was known as a long-standing member in Mac DeMarco's touring band, but as a solo musician, his music has become just as beloved as DeMarco's. Together, these two Canadians are carving a niche of weird-pop that's becoming (for many) the sound of our generation.
Pete Sagar a.k.a. Homeshake, and Midnight Snack in particular, is a culture-freak’s dream. If you love strange interpretations of pop culture and weirdo music (think Ariel Pink) then Homeshake will tantalize you all the way to the record store. Homeshake’s debut album highlighted his blue-wave guitar twang, similar to former band mate Mac Demarco’s style, but there was something funkier and hazier going on with Homeshake.
On Midnight Snack (Homeshake’s sophomore effort) the funk and bizarre vibes are at an all-time high. The guitar is traded in for a synthesizer and drum machine, while a slow, deep voice initiates the album, and a high-pitched feminine voice makes sultry appearances throughout. Sagar’s vocals are clearer and more confident this time around too. The whole package of warm synths and Sagar’s bizarre way of singing about romance ("Baby, if you ask, we can dance all night" from "Move That Body") literally calms me down and mentally wraps me up in a warm blanket. There’s nothing that interests me more than weirdo’s making love songs, and Midnight Snack has nailed the formula.
The novelty funk of Midnight Snack isn’t that far from the tongue-in-cheek stylings of Hot Chip’s debut album, Coming On Strong. That album was half-heartedly referred to as electro-ironic soul music by critics, and the same description could be applied here. You can slow dance to “I Don’t Wanna” if you’ve got a laid-back two-step (think Twin Peaks dancing dwarf) and you might get swept away to better days when you hear the harmonies on “Under The Sheets”, which pull from Mariah Carey’s “Always Be My Baby”. Despite its quirks, Midnight Snack is a genuinely good pop album, and it stands to be Homeshake’s breakout album cementing him as a deeply talented, love-obsessed, and slightly twisted musician.