Teen Daze – All Of Us, Together

6/16/12 | By Erik Stabile | 5 Comments

Teen Daze - All Of Us, Together
Lefse Records: 2012

Stepping over the faded coattails of the chillwave genre, Teen Daze releases his sophomore album, All Of Us, Together, another instrumental that is sure to be sampled on summer playlists and indie art films about picking dandelions. The album is not bad by any means. It exists as a more evolved final draft, fixing most shortcomings in his 2011 release, A Silent Planet. The pace on this album is just a little quicker, the hooks are a little hookier, and the vibe is just a little more—beat heavy.

Beats on All of Us, Together play a much larger role than previous work. They seem to break through the ethereal noise boredom that many chillwave artists slather on. The newfound appreciation for clarity is noticed from the very first track, “Treten”. It’s beyond danceable. In fact, this whole album is dance worthy. I did not dance to this album myself, but I did take it for a run. The beats on this album were calibrated, I think, to perfectly complement a mellow jogging pace.

Do not place this album too close with other chillwave artists’ albums. Yes, there is still that laptop vibe, but the dead-pulse feeling, like you’re sinking deeper into a heroin overdose, is replaced with lively exuberance. This album is really fish food for producers. Teen Daze is, one should note, the moniker for producer Jamison—whose work should not be pigeonholed. His other works, such as remix tracks for Seven Saturday and side project Two Bicycles have kept me from pinning down Jamison as a genre-specific artist.

The only setback from these of tracks, which are drawn out like taffy, is the repetitive nature of all-to-similar beats. Listening to this entire album in the stationary position instills some boredom. It’s too symmetrical, which was not a problem on the EP A Silent Planet. Those who enjoy this album should explore the Canadians other works. I was presently surprised by what lies beneath the tip of the iceberg that is All Of Us, Together.