Love Migrate are a criminally undervalued band from Melbourne. Evolved out of Goodnight Owl with a splash of Sleep Decade and some King Gizzard thrown in too, this is the band’s second EP since 2012’s goddamn incredible album Plagued Are All My Thoughts, Like White Ants In The Fence.
Love Migrate’s tunes are tailor made for a dreary Melbourne winter. The music envelops your ear holes like an old blanket would while you sit on the couch safe from the grey pitter-patter outside. First track Pippa’s In The Highlands gets things off to a beautiful easygoing start, and gives an indication where the EP will take you. The band’s previous release Dissolved was a bit stagnant – beautiful, of course, but a little slow. By contrast, Shimmer Through the Night keeps chugging along. Dreaming Wild takes a nice sonic side step into synth pop. It’s a bit like The War On Drugs, but with enough Love Migrate to not be obvious. The vocals are gutsier and less shaky than they’ve been on past releases. Who knows whether or not that was intentional, but it sounds great. Another corker, Making Me Feel Terrible continues down synth alley with a triumphant Jon Farnham juju. It’s nice hearing this mob try something new.
The EP closes with Seahorse, a wonky little ballad that drops it back a few pegs. Love Migrate have always done the slow stuff well. Seahorse is no different; soaked in melancholy with a few sprinkles of optimism to keep you floating along.
BY JACK PARSONS
