Syndromes

iTunes Review

Stephen Hindman (production/keyboards) and Penelope Trappes (vocals) are New York’s The Golden Filter; the duo got its start remixing songs by Cut Copy and Peter Bjorn and John. This time, Hindman and Trappes collaborated with Norwegian director Kristoffer Borgli to create a soundtrack for his 2011 short film of the same name. Like The Golden Filter’s first album, Syndromes sounds equally inspired by Pink Floyd and Saint Etienne. “Mother” opens with minimal beats and pulsing analog synthesizers. This rubs nicely against the grainy grind of an old Hammond B3 organ; Trappes sings softly, with an icy and demure cool emanating from her voice. The piano-heavy “Syn” follows, with Trappes’ inflections drenched in spacy reverb as cello and pitter-patter beats gradually build a palpable tension under her voice. Stretching for nearly 10 minutes, “Shake” is dynamically layered with movie samples, ambient string drones, and sporadic beats before shifting into Vangelis-flavored krautrock. The bonus track “Mysteries of Love” reinvents shoegazing with dense vocal echoes and dreamy tones.