My first encounter with Candy Claws was through the (dead right now) independent music site CLLCT. At that time, all that had been put out was the Two Airships/Exploder Falls EP. I listened to it but didn't really know what to make of it. It felt like just another rehash of that glitch-pop-pseudo-ambient sound that has been heard too much as it is. Months later, Candy Claws had been spread around the blogosphere because of their first official album In The Dream Of Sea Life. It was intended to be listened to while reading the 1951 book "The Sea Around Us" by Rachel L. Carlson.
In The Dream Of Sea Life is dreamy, poppy, fun and if you think that's too cute, it has its fair share of fuzz and feedback. The album certainly attempts to appeal to all audiences, whether or not that was accomplished, the album deserves at least an honorable mention on someone's "Top Albums of '09" list. None of the songs really repeat themselves even though Candy Claws aren't exploring any new genres and are just sticking with what they know. Even though this may be considered electronica, it's obvious that their influences go back to My Bloody Valentine and other classic shoegaze bands. The vocals seem very reminiscent of bands like múm and Efterklang; hushed and up-front. They don't exactly blend in with the music itself as they do just singing on top of it. It may seem a little like cliched "indie pop" from what I've said, but it doesn't end up that way, or at least by traditional cliched-indie-pop standards.
Candy Claws' In The Dream Of Sea Life should be known as some of the biggest progress indie music of today has had. It's very cute, but it doesn't have to try to be. Not in the sense that it's accidental, but it's sometimes unintentional. This album stands out against many other bands and it's a definite must-have.
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