BETWEEN FRIENDS encompasses a dreamy pop sound in their first EP

BETWEEN FRIENDS encompasses a dreamy pop sound in their first EP

“Laptop-dream pop” is how brother and sister duo, BETWEEN FRIENDS, label their music.

Often times, artists confine their music to one-word, generic genres: pop, indie, rock, alternative… the list goes on and on. The wide umbrella terms usually aren’t specific enough to describe unique groups or artists, so when I read “laptop-dream pop” in a Galore interview with the band, I had a feeling I would enjoy their music.

I smiled at how they described their music before I even listened to it, which then made me smile even more because I knew, in that instant, that I had discovered a new band to add to my ever-growing list of favorites.

They did not attach a general, one-word label to their anything-but-ordinary sounds. They closed the umbrella, threw it across the rainy city, and discovered their label where the closed umbrella landed: a single raindrop on a tiny piece of grass.  

That’s how oddly specific, and specifically accurate, the label is for their music.

Four-track EP, u can still come over, embodies that single raindrop.

The first track, which shares the same name as the EP itself, opens with Savannah Hudson’s airy and angelic vocals and grainy record-scratch sounds. Her brother, Brandon, gently harmonizes, adding in synth sounds and rhythmic beats that are easy to nod along to. It’s a chill, light, mellow tune that has no weight to its sound but does hold density in its lyrics. It’s an easy song to lightly let its ethereal harmonies and simple beats play softly in the background, but it gets even better when you crank up the sound, and the depth, of the lyrics.

“Affection” includes the same drawn out, tip-of-your-tongue vocals from Savannah, but there’s a distortion to her sound in this song. Adding to the already angel-like sound, a moody echo enhances the ethereal aspect of her voice. More upbeat than the last, and with a catchy chorus, I think this one was my favorite from the EP. I find this one circling around in my head the most, the lyrics wrapping around my mind like overgrown vines on a fencepost.

I hear the passion, the grit, the range, and the talent this obscure band possess in this song, but above all else, I hear the “laptop-dream pop” sound. “Affection” and “u can still come over” sound like what I imagine dreams feel like—I don’t remember my dreams, so I’m not the most credible source—but I think BETWEEN FRIENDS’ sound is the white, puffy, airy, golden clouds that are associated with happy dreams.

After two or three listens of the third track of the EP, “better friends,” I had every lyric memorized.

Opening with the muffled sounds of a loud crowd, circling synth sounds, and a light cowbell—three very random sounds that, somehow, make good music when put together—this song also embodies dream world. Throughout the catchy, stick-in-your-head-for-days lyrics, the three random elements slide their way in and out of the song at exactly the right times.

Perfect for dancing in your room alone, walking through the slush for your daily dose of sunshine, blasting in the car with friends, or any other occasion that calls for obnoxiously loud singing and horrible—but happy—dancing, “better friends” is a catchy, upbeat favorite of mine.

The closer of the EP, “iloveyou” somehow sounds both indie rock and pop at the same time. Maybe that’s why the label for their music is so oddly specific—it doesn’t stick to one specific label; it’s every random descriptor all at once. Compared to the lightness of the EP, the heavy guitar and bass kicks and immediately reversal into the funky pop parking space contributed to a surprise ending to the EP.

It had the airy harmonies of “u can still come over,” the catchiness of “affection,” and the groove of “better friends” in the span of two minutes and 46 seconds.

BETTER FRIENDS is a unique band. From their name, to their label, to their sound, everything about them is perfectly odd and distinct and dreamy.

No other metaphors or similes can describe their sound. “Laptop-dream pop” are the only words that can accurately describe exactly what BETTER FRIENDS encompasses.