“If it’s o.k. I’m going to the rocky garden full of stars
Can you find the time to meet me there I fear it’s very far?”
A phrase and a question begin the first single, “Bunhill Fields” from Amor de Dias’ debut “Street of the Love of Days” (out now on Merge Records). If the same question was asked of potential listeners, the answer should be a resounding “yes!” You will want to meet Amor de Dias (Spanish for “love of days) wherever they want to take you because their songs exist in a beautiful, far away land of eternal autumn, and perpetual twilight.
Stream “Bunhill Fields”
Formed in 2008, Amor de Dias is comprised of Alasdair Maclean from a band beloved by many a KCRW DJ – The Clientele – and Lupe Nunez Fenandez of the Spanish/British indiepop band Pipas.
Nunez Fernandez is a native of Spain who splits her time between Madrid, London and the good old U.S of A. Her flighty, “home is where the heart is,” approach to life seems to inform the songs of “Street of the Love of Days” that don’t feel exactly Spanish, English, or American, but simultaneously all of the above.
A gentle Bossa Nova undercurrent runs throughout the album while a hazy shade of psychedlia colors most of the precedings as well. You might expect to find plenty of songs that feature Spanish guitar and you will, but it’s the more delicate touches of piano, soft horns, and bells that really give the whole thing such a unique sound and shape.
Well, that, and way that the two principle musicians blend their voices on the albums many gorgeous harmonies. Of course, when each band member sings his or her respective leads, the geography of it all does become a little more apparent.
Maclean has one of the fullest, smoothest, and warmest voices not just in indiepop, but in indie music period. Its innate Englishness is always on full display. Think a more velveteen voiced modern day Ray Davies. As for Nunez-Fernandez, her distinct Spanish accent shines through making the words a sheer delight to experience, particularly on the songs that are actually sung in Spanish. The best of those arguably being the groovy-lite “Late Mornings,” which has an equally groovy video.
That two such like minded musicians (who appear to have their like minds so often focused on the beautiful and strange) should come together for even so much as a one-off show would be a true gift. That they’ve come together for a whole album… well that just feels like Christmas morning.
— DJ Marion Hodges
[vimeo]http://vimeo.com/23176130[/vimeo]