A Breath of Sigh

"Endless Summer," Kentucky-based indie rock collective Follow the Train's leadoff track to Breath of Sigh, their debut for San Diego's Darla Records, sounds like just that, a sunset disappearing into the horizon viewed from the luxury of a beat-up convertible hugging the coast. This is dream pop in the vein of early-'90s 4AD bands like the Pale Saints and the Red House Painters with the cool, dark scent of the Church lingering behind it. Frontman Dennis Sheridan adopts Steve Kilbey's laconic delivery and breathy despair without becoming a slave to it, providing the more uptempo numbers like "Think in the Skin, " which starts out like Mask-era Bauhaus then evolves into an Echo & the Bunnymen chorus, and the Interpol-esque "Original Disconnect" with both volatility and urgency. With a sound so steeped in post-punk, new wave, and college rock, it's hard not to name-check so many bands, and the group's penchant for reverbed-out midtempo revelry can get awfully sleepy, but when it works, like on the gorgeous "Kentucky" and "Afraid," it's like a gilded window to both the past and the future with the listener on the deciding end.