“Capsules” is a slice of dark, spacey synth-pop magic, coming via Portland, Oregon-based husband/wife duo Peridot. The project started out as a vehicle for simple cover songs, and has evolved into a wonderful showing of original songwriting.
It’s hard to resist the lush vintage synths and gentle 808/R&B inspired percussion in the intro and throughout, immediately captivating listeners into a mysteriously spacey soundscape (that’s aptly fitting for the music video’s colors and general stylistic delivery). The hushed vocals add even more this lushness, setting up well to the clever synth-led melodic hook around 01:25, where the vocals cut out in favor of interesting melodic developments and the addition of static-y synths, sounding like a lost transmission from the dark depths of space. Crystal Castles are a rather obvious point of comparison, and complementary so, but I’m also reminded of the synth-pop richness dictated by a group like Yellow Magic Orchestra (and Yukihiro Takahashi’s solo works specifically, which pursue a similar soundscape). This is top-notch synth-pop.
Stream the duo’s new album, Consequences, as well as the video for “Capsules” below:
