Disco Volador

Disco Volador was recorded by The Orielles, a Halifax, Nova Scotia band consisting of siblings Sidonie and Esmé Dee Hand-Halford, Henry Carlyle Wade and Alex Stephens.^[5] It is the sophomore release of the band following the 2018 album Silver Dollar Moment.^[5] The band drew from several genre influences, including disco music, bossa nova, jazz, psychedelia and acid house;^[5][6] also artists ABBA and Lenny Breau.^[7] The band stated that escapism, and "using dance music to escape", was a core theme of the album,^[8][5] with the 'disco volador', the Spanish translation of flying disc or frisbee, intended as a symbol of "feelings of flight and motion and the notion of human connectivity".^[8] Gutarist Henry Carlyle-Wade stated an aim to make the album's songs "more diverse from a chordal point of view" compared to the previous album, developing an interest in jazz chords, seventh chords, and pedal tones.^[7]

Disco Volador was announced by label Heavenly Recordings on 21 October 2019 with the release of a lead single, "Come Down On Jupiter.^[6][9] The single accompanied a music video directed by Rose Hendry, shot in Kennington.^[6] The band promoted the album with their first-ever North America tour in March 2020, including appearances in New York City for the New Colossus Festival,^[5] and in Austin, Texas for SXSW.^[10]

According to review aggregator Metacritic, Disco Volador received "generally favorable" reviews from critics.^[14] Critics considered the album had an eclectic range of sounds;^[1][12][11] DIY wrote that the band "blend a ton of influences" to create a "vivid world of colour and flavor to get lost in",^[12] and The Line of Best Fit praised the transcendence of "feelings and moods, decades and textures, boundaries and expectations" in its music.^[1] Allmusic felt that the band "throw idea after idea into the mix and are able to pull them off each time".^[11] The album's lyrical themes were also generally praised, with PopMatters enjoying its "childlike fascination with space",^[2] and Clash praising the focus on "escaping the mundanity of the everyday, rewarding listeners that allow their imaginations to wander".^[4] Comparisons were made between the album and bands such as Lizzy Mercier Descloux, Slowdive, Stereolab and Yo La Tengo across tracks.^[13][2][12] Critics were divided on how these influences were reflected in the album, some viewed the album's sound as derivative;^[3] MusicOMH felt the band "struggle to stamp their own identity" on their influences, stating the tracks lacked originality.^[13] In contrast PopMatters felt the album "isn't overshadowed by its vast lineup of influences", considering it less stagnation than "music that's fresh and optimistic",^[2] Some critics also felt the music production lacked impact: MusicOMH finding it "placid" and "lacking vibrancy",^[13] and The Guardian writing that "the density of the production occasionally subsumes their appealing vocal melodies and fails to mask a lack of emotional punch".^[3]