Slow Coda

Night Window is the debut EP from L.A. dreampop band Slow Coda. The EP is a DIY project of Tavis Balkin, Nicholas Morford and Johnny Skwirut. The trio deliver six tracks that are a novella of night time activities. To quote the band, Night Window is a "soundtrack for dead-end jobs, ambiguous relationships, staying up late, and wasting valuable time." The EP though, is far from a waste of time. It perfectly encapsulates all the best qualities of dreampop and is a definite must have. - Floorshime Zipper Boots

Night Window is the debut EP of LA-based showgaze/dream pop group, Slow Coda.

The 6-track album has all the elements you’d expect from the genre: echoing vocals, layers of synth and simple, slightly repetitive verses. However, Slow Coda is able to tweak their sound by incorporating some staccato’d drum patterns and surprisingly complex choruses.

This sudden jump between verse and chorus is very welcomed. It adds a bit more depth to the tracks, and it provides the hooks that the listener is waiting for. Scorn introduces sudden, jerky percussion when there once were none, and San Pedro Spirits flows with high string guitar echoes and stacked background harmonies. Very unexpected, and very pleasing.

The EP’s title track, Night Window, is perhaps the highlight of the album. The song is just about a minute and a half long, and there are no vocals. But man, these are a remarkable 98 seconds, featuring slow and calming waves of synth on an 8-bit beach, and distant, echoing ticks, like the little sonar hiccups from a radar.

The EP is a short and sweet, late-night, post-party-on-the-drive-home album. In fact, according to the band’s music page, all tracks on the EP were recorded at night. I enjoyed the small dose of their sound as an EP; it showed consistency and coherency without getting too old or repetitive between songs (which may have been an issue for a full LP).
- Reach LAX