Eleventeen Eston Delta Horizon

Optimism's easier to ruin than restore but Perth fantasy windsurfer John William Tanner's elusive soft rock miniatures under the Eleventeen Eston handle evoke, in his own words, "a type of optimism and sincerity that exists (or did exist) in popular music, beyond any notion of nostalgia." Too true. The 13 themes and pleasure cruises comprising Delta Horizon, his debut, exude a loose, relaxed warmth, cyclical and sun-soaked and spacious, like the soundtrack to some mythically faded new wave instructional hang gliding video. Pastel piano melodies, funky phasered keyboard presets, rubber band basslines, and upbeat coastal Stratocaster hooks bop and weave atop lean session drum tracks, swooping from memory-hijacked Australian vacation-rock to sensual sky-lounge abstraction and back. Certain sectionals feel in league with that dusky interzone of sleek psych and smooth jazz captured on certain late 80's Innovative Communication releases, though Tanner's own heroes hew more to breezy prog (Masayoshi Takakana) and afro-cosmos groove (Teo & Fabrizio Fattori). Whatever the roots, Delta Horizon has been a repeat jam gem ever since we heard the roughs last year, and we're stoked to share it wide. Edition of 100.