- You can level criticisms at Ducktails—his music is twee, or lacks emotional breadth. But even when they're valid, they fall flat over an EP's runtime. Where his album Flower Lane may have been too much of the same thing, at less than twenty minutes, the Wish Hotel EP's charms rarely wear thin.
Matt Mondanile's vocals on "Tie Dye" don't come in for some time. Against the plumes of synth and languid guitar lines, his voice outlines low countermelodies in the pillowy tones beloved by the likes of Beach House. "Honey Tiger Eyes" and "Wish Hotel" would be innocuous pop songs if they weren't both elevated to something rather special by daydreamy instrumental sections, all winding guitars and blooming synths. The delivery can be a little too dazed to give the lyrics real import, but that sun-bleached quality is part of Ducktails' charm. "Jazz" lopes along pleasantly, its instrumental parts benefiting from a clearer sound but countered by a vocal that's even more feathery than usual, while the veils of pretty synths on "Naïve Music" make it sound much like its title: spontaneous and unpretentious.
Tracklist01. Tie-Dye
02. Honey Tiger Eyes
03. Wish Hotel
04. Jazz
05. Naive Music