Easy is the third album from Wechsel Garland (the recording name of Jorg Follert) and as the title suggests, this is some smooth-flowing electronic pop. Follert takes dabs of tropicalia and lounge and swirls them into his impeccably-produced songs, resulting in an album that sounds custom-crafted for spring and summer listening close to the equator with pineapple-flavored drinks in hand.
It's also an album that's a bit deceptive in that the first couple listens come across as almost pure sugar-coating. There's not a harsh edge to be found on Easy, and with all the light instrumentation and airy vocals, it threatens to go in one ear and out the other. That said, I've found myself coming back to the release over and over again, and sections of the album have become lodged in my brain far after it stops spinning. "Walker" opens the disc with acoustic guitar strums that float over minimal percussive elements while multiple layers of breathy vocals are the gauze that pulls everything together.
The album is split between a batch of longer, more developed pieces and a bunch of shorter tracks that still pack nice little punches despite their lesser running time. On the front end of the album, both "Waves" and "Swim" sound like perfect soundtracks for jumping into clear blue water from white sand while "ABC To Me" mixes subtle, but beautiful synths over more strummed guitar and two-part vocal harmonies that make the short track far more weighty that it seems on first listen.
Follert isn't afraid of schmaltzing it up a bit either, and he proves it with the great "Corona Loco (Look At Me)," which takes some sampled jazz rhythms and layers a somewhat lightweight electric piano / clavinet duet over the top. By the end of the album, the whole lite feel comes close to wearing out its welcome, but fortunately he mixes things up a bit with a couple varying tracks like the super-woozy "Mutes" and the pretty piano / metal drum/ harmonica instrumental of "Get Over It," which serves as sort of the album centerpiece. Somewhat similar in places to the nice little Wir Sind Hier album by März, Easy is quite agreeable. Anyone for a Mai Tai?
