triple j Unearthed Pick of the Week – Hopium “Dreamers”

Hopium ft. Phoebe Lou
Dreamers

It would appear as though we’re approaching critical mass when it comes to artists bridging the gap between indie and electronic sounds with soulful stars like Chet Faker, SAFIA and The Kite String Tangle becoming the new pinups of the Australian music scene. There’s a huge second wave of artists focusing on electronic elements in their songwriting that are threatening to break through next including Unearthed rising stars like Flamingo, Airling, Fortunes, Andrei Eremin and Melbourne duo Hopium who’ve just released a real ripper in Dreamers.

What I like about these guys is that they’re clever with what they do. When they first appeared on Unearthed with their debut Cut the enigmatic Melbourne twosome added some quirk to this really downcast, frosty admission of guilt with some left-field sampling beneath the mournful vocal. With new one Dreamers there’s a neat counter-point to the male lead vocals with the coos of Phoebe Lou (formerly of Snakadaktal) who offers a soliloquy of lazy musings about twenty-something malaise. It’s totally unexpected but compelling all the same. Meanwhile the production is sprinkled with the presence of M-Phazes on ‘extra beats’ which might explain the glittery sheen and occasional trap snare rolls.