Pretty Tangled Loop

Emeralds “Candy Shoppe”

Emeralds build most of their songs around lovely arpeggiated melodies that seem to spin gently like pinwheels in the breeze. This lends their music a pretty, tuneful quality that informs all of their compositions, and provides a musical through-line that is a lot more structured and “pop” than what you’d typically expect from ambient music. I hear echoes of Terry Riley in this stuff, but rather than develop themes for long stretches of time, Emeralds mostly do succinct pieces like “Candy Shoppe” that resolve in some sort of cathartic crest before hitting the five minute mark. They’re not the first to do this sort of friendly miniature minimalism, but they’re quite good at it. Each time I’ve heard this particular track, I’ve come away from it with a happy glow.

Buy it from Amazon.