PURE BATHING CULTURE

MOON TIDES (Memphis Industries)

7/20

When we heard Pure Bathing Culture’s debut EP last year, we liked the song Ivory Coast in a big way. Maybe we’d been on a strict diet of pulverising German techno, or maybe we’d spent that day trying to keep up to date with 1017 Brick Squad’s relentless output of trap mixtapes, because the Portland duo’s glossy indie-folk felt as refreshing as jumping into a cold lake after a week laying bricks in the Sahara. But now we’ve heard Moon Tides, it’s as if we’ve been seduced by a mysterious blue-eyed temptress, only to find she’s part of some weird pseudo-evangelist cult. We’ve given them the first financial instalment, but now it’s giving us the creeps. We want out. To be fair, it’s not all so bad, Scotty and Golden Girl are guiltless forays into soft rock territory – not far removed from Ducktails or the moonlit indie boogie of Montreal outfit Tops – but songs like Only Lonely Lovers, Seven 2 One and Dream The Dare could easily provide the theme tune to a Channel 5 daytime soap opera set in the Lake District. There’s a place where Moon Tides could be played without being subject to such cold hearted piss taking, and that place is a gift shop which sells Ying & Yang necklaces, dream catchers and crystal skull ornaments.

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Words: David Reed