by Tim Sendra
Hydroplane are the ambient dream-pop off-shoot of Aussie indie group the Cat's Miaow. The Cat's Miaow write mostly uptempo, jangling pop songs, but here they do away with any semblance of tempo and are content to drift peacefully along on lush beds of synths and guitars. The songs are nice and quiet, the female vocals are melancholy, hushed, and remarkably for an indie-pop group, mostly in tune. The overall feel is that of sleepwalking through a field of really soft things; tissue, clouds, pillows. In fact one sometimes wishes for a hook or a change in dynamics to break through the cotton-candy and grab the listener, but it never happens. Nevertheless, this is a well-played, pleasant sounding record. If you are looking for soothing and calm indie pop, you could do a lot worse.