Jack Milas and Oli Chang, members of the Australian duo known as High Highs, have recently begun to gain traction in the indie music community. Two years after releasing a critically acclaimed four-song EP, they are back with their first full-length album, released on Fine Time Records in January 2013. With a muted, ambient sound reminiscent of Bon Iver, their music is at times both harmonically rich and sonically vacant. An often present sunny overtone adds interesting dimension to the somber mood encompassing many of the tracks on the album.
“In a Dream,” the newest single from Open Season, features opening chords that bend and nearly reach the realm of the psychedelic. This slowly builds to well-crafted hooks made up of mellow guitar and echoing vocals. Overall, the track remains rather dynamically stagnant but as more vocal harmonies are layered on and the underlying rhythmic pattern speeds up, the song reaches a climax of sorts in the last few bars. In any case, it becomes evident that dynamic interest takes a back seat to atmospheric creation in this particular song.
The band are opening for Vampire Weekend on several U.S. tour dates in late May after visiting The Frequency in Madison in March. Hopefully with the strong, cohesive work they have recently released, we will see more of them locally in the future.