Ephemeral by WMD (Review)

While the name of Michael Erickson’s project might suggest something a bit… aggressive… focus instead on the title of his latest EP, which is about as accurate a description as you can get for Erickson’s dreampop. Or better yet, go with Erickson’s own description for Ephemeral: “Fleeting moments, reveries drenched in sun-soaked melancholy.”

With hazy guitar lines, subdued melodies, billowing synthesizers, and programmed beats that don’t propel so much as drift, Ephemeral’s five songs are the perfect soundtrack for those summer days where you just want to lie down and watch the clouds float by. Or if you’re more tropically-minded, for sitting on the beach and watching the golden sun set over the waves.

What helps this effect is Erickson’s sense of economy. All of these songs are less than 4 minutes long, which makes them short and sweet. He wastes no time in setting up his dreamy, nostalgia-inducing soundscapes and just as importantly, never lets them overstay their welcome. If you want the mood to last, then you have to put these songs on repeat — and I suspect that once you’ve experienced some of Erickson’s pensive sounds, you probably will.