Heartbeat Hotel

I was first introduced to Heartbeat Hotel this summer during late night tree house sessions.  On given weekdays when people went to sleep early for work, those who chose to resist slumber entered the "tree house".  We'd just hang out and enjoy the tranquility that the evening had imparted upon us.  Part of this soothing experience included two important components; a set of portable iPod speakers and of course, an iPod.

On one of these evenings my friend put on the album Fetus Dreams by Heartbeat Hotel, and it fit the mood perfectly.  Not a single person complained as the whole album played through its entirety.  Eventually, Heartbeat Hotel became a pretty common fixture to the late night tree house experience.  Since the summer, its beauty has since been carried beyond that of the 2 AM dominion.  Now, I listen to it all the time.  It's another band that's emerging from what's become a melting pot of musical ingenuity and imagination, Montreal.

My personal favorite is the song "Windowsill 1", which has an incredible build-up of instruments that crescendos with a superb horn section towards the end of the song.  This, mixed in with the warm and affectionate lyrics, gives the song a magnificently intimate atmosphere.  "Windowsill 1", like a majority of their songs, effortlessly blankets you with delicate melodies and soft synth grooves.  Meanwhile, some songs (like "Polar Bears" and "Fins of a Shark") reach out to the shoegaze love I've been digging lately.  As a culmination, it really has a special niche in the music scene, and I wish them the best moving forward.  Below I have posted "The Hello Barrel" and "Windowsill 1" from their 2010 debut album, Fetus Dreams. Best part?  You can download the whole album entirely free on their Bandcamp page, located here if you're interested.

 The Hello Barrel

 Windowsill 1