The ties between the making of this album and the childhood of Joey Vannucchi, the brainchild behind From Indian Lakes, are eerily similar. Vannuchhi grew up in Indian Lakes, California, a small community that lies just outside of the Yosemite National Park – it was here where he grew up on 40 acres of land with no electricity, aside from a sparsely used generator.
To create his fourth album ‘Everything Feels Better Now’, Vannucchi rented space in the basement of a coffee shop to record his demos, before scraping enough gear together to make a workable home studio. After three months, he started working with producer Kevin Augunas and engineer Gavin Paddock to create this awe-inspiring masterpiece.
The album starts off with wavy intro track ‘Happy Machines’, with the of the title “Everything feels better now” lyrics, before diving into an album that touches the senses in a most beautiful way. Quirky melodies and alluring harmonies quietly come together to create swelling tracks such as ‘Bare It’ and ‘American Dreams’, whilst both ‘The Monster’ and ‘Feel Love’ are far more upbeat, with bouncy synth work and guitar lines.
‘Hello’ is another dreamy, hazy track that showcases how huge Vannucchi makes his instrumental atmospheres. ‘Blank Tapes’ is an absolute delight of a track – Joey Vannucchi’s vocals really shine here. They’re elegant yet delicate; they uphold the structure of this track, yet sound like they could break at any given moment. Then there’s ‘Come Back’, a soulful, bittersweet number; lyrics of “was I never afraid you were never ever coming back?”
With album number four, From Indian Lakes have created the perfect soundtrack for those who are hopelessly romantic. Dreamy and quirky in equal measures, it’s well-crafted, blending Joey Vannucchi’s sublime hushed vocals with clean guitar work and exquisite synths, and thus makes ‘Everything Feels Better Now’ an absolute joy.
JESS TAGLIANI