Conveyor are a former keyboard-duo turned four-piece, founded in Gainsville Florida but now working in Brooklyn. Their debut EP, called Sun Ray, brings a brand of synth-meets-guitar indie-pop that’s hardly unfamiliar, but is delivered with a calm maturity that’s worth checking out.
The highlight of the EP is the opening track, “Foreword”. It opens with gentle group harmonies extremely reminiscent of Low, except where Low usually make me want to weep, this track is comforting and warm, a result of the gentle synths that bubble in the background throughout. Throw in a distortion drenched guitar solo for the bridge, and you’ve got a winner. The EP’s third track, “Yes Some Things Are So Heavy”, pulls off the same trick of appearing sombre before cheering up, so that the song’s fadeout, which would be chilling in isolation, is somehow uplifting. This time it’s achieved with a lyrical turn around rather than instrumental warmth: “Yes, some things are so heavy. I’ll pick them up. You don’t have too.”
The other two tracks on the EP are more unambiguously cheery, all catchy drum loops and chirpy synths. Closing track “Milkman” is just silly fun, cutting loose after the more serious efforts that come before. There’s something of Local Natives to the song’s opening harmony, which is followed by some irresistibly funny “yum yum yums” and playful lyrics: “I am the milkman, my bones are thick and stronger than bricks”.
Swing by the Bandcamp link to download the EP, check out the dates for Conveyor’s north-eastern tour in August and September, and even pre-order a swanky, limited edition, orange vinyl copy of Sun Ray which will be released on September 6th.
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