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Sep 20, 2011 Web Exclusive By Laura Studarus

Drawing inspiration from C.S. Lewis’ Out of the Silent Planet, nameless musician Teen Daze has created an EP of six glow-pop tracks. While his means (multiple layers, floating synths, echo-filled vocals low in the mix) are the same as don’t-call-em-chillwave contemporaries Washed Out, Memory Tapes, and Toro Y Moi, the ends are significantly different. Despite a promising sound that verges on electro-nostalgia, Teen Daze seems content to focus on feel rather than structure. As a result, his music sounds as light as air, able to drift forever, and in danger of sailing off on the slightest breeze.

It’s a very pretty ride for those with the patience to sift through the album’s featherweight atmospherics. The problem is, there isn’t much to sift through. The six songs of A Silent Planet don’t so much sound like a study in minimalism as they do half-finished. With songs moving like rudderless ships, the listener is left to anticipate something—a backbeat, a guitar line, a vocal delivered above a whisper, anything—to peak above the sonic mass and lead the way. Of all the tracks, “It Calls Me Under” comes the closest to completion. However, its ear-catching opening—featuring Berlin-worthy synths—slowly give way, until it (like the majority of the album) seemingly subsists on the vapors of more engaging songs. (www.facebook.com/teendaze)

Author rating: 4/10