High Highs
Open Season (Deluxe), 2013

If you have it on hand to reference, Open Season is the musical embodiment of its album cover. Beautiful album. Every song is light enough to feel like a suspension of reality (or echoey enough to feel like you're floating--echoey is probably the best way to describe this album). Not the kind of thing you play to pump things up, but it's excellent to chill out/relax to.

No FCCs.

1. (1:18) Light piano overlaps a faint guiding beat. Feels very floaty, dreamlike. Smooth fade out; instrumental teaser for the rest of the album.
2. (3:35) Echoey guitar strums/high vocals. Really prominent "ohhh"s throughout, accentuate the light feeling. Builds up as strong drum beat comes into play later.
3. *(3:01) Static edges, prominent guitar strumming, chorus "ohhh"s are particularly ethereal with some subtle cymbals in the background. Happy song.
4. (3:40) Stronger guitar than before, even more faded vocals.
5. **(3:51) Probably least echoey melody in the album, driven by clean strumming and some really nice keys. Really, really catchy and happy.
6. *(2:31) Folksy sound, high reverb on vocals and piano. Slower/darker than others, but it's really simple, clean, pretty.
7. (4:34) Darker, sleepier, echoey-er.
8. *(3:34) Builds up beautifully, more percussion-heavy than before (smashing cymbals a nice touch).
9. *(3:38) Mournful vocals are the driving force of the song (the "oooh"s are particularly chilling and can qualify as an element all their own). More folksy guitar and a nice driving beat add urgency to the song as it progresses.
10. (4:16) Starts faster than anything else on the album, keeps pretty much the same pace/melody throughout as they bring in some slight percussion. Vocals particularly echoey.
11. (3:30) Echoey keys drive this song, backing guitar slightly reminiscent of ballad-y chords. Driving percussion beat slower than others on the album.
12. (3:19) Nice melody set up from the beginning; clean, folksy guitar and lots of "oooh"s. Think of a coffee shop.
13. **(3:17) Opens with classic drums/guitar, reminiscent of 80s ballad/rock but without the flair. Nicely driven by backing vocals; the reverb on main is less prominent than before. Something you'd listen to on a chill road trip. Favorite. (note: if it sounds familiar, check out the College ft. Electric Youth cover done for the 2011 movie Drive).
14. (3:30) Remix of track 2. Just as chilled out, with some snapping noises put in place to reinforce song pace. The last minute is fantastic, with the song sounding as if it was electrified and leading to a big finish.
15. *(4:47) Remix of track 13. Dancier version, opening with a disco-esque spin and then shifting to more electronic. In fact, the only part that feels particularly preserved is the chorus, which is sped up and electrified to match a rising beat. Lots of nice drops, usually after chorus.
16. (3:46) Remix of track 6. Complete change; lots of high vocals and a kind of jolting mixing done on the original melody.