Dead Gowns

Dead Gowns
It’s Summer, I Love You, and I’m Surrounded By Snow
self-released

It’s been well over six years since the Portland indie folk-rock group Dead Gowns dropped their stunning New Spine EP and singer Geneviève Beaudoin’s gymnastic voice stopped the entire state in its tracks, but the band has yet to release a full-length album of new material. I don’t know why, but neither am I nosey enough to find out. As a fan, I’ll take what I can get, and the Gowns’ new compilation of tracks recorded between 2020 and ’23, It’s Summer, I Love You, and I’m Surrounded By Snow, has a bunch of songs I know I’ll be digging for many years to come.

Like the opener, “How Can I.” Beaudoin’s gorgeously lethargic introduction unfurls halfway through into the kind of gloriously ragged rock displayed on their great 2022 single, “Renter Not a Buyer” (not included here). Same with the rocky and sorta strange “Wet Dog” and brawny “Kid 1,” which first appeared two years ago. “Brother” is an achingly beautiful ballad.

Beyond this, on Side B, the album drags a bit, weighed down by lovely but slower, more ponderous numbers like “Burnout,” “See People,” Brother 2” and “Sand Plumb.” The Casio tone and drum machine on “Swimmer” are interesting and hint at the cool electro-dance singles Beaudoin and guitarist Luke Kalloch made with Spencer Albee a few years back as Bell Systems. An intriguing road not taken.

“In the Haze” and “Bad Habit” are solid examples of the direction Dead Gowns is heading — out into the fertile fields of alt-country. With a fuller band behind her, including bassists Nat Baldwin and Alex Millan (depending on the track), drummers Peter McLaughlin and Ricardo Lagomasino, and pedal steel star Hamilton Belk, Beaudoin can do no wrong. I’d buy an album of her singing the phone book (or at least stream it for free), and I’ll follow this band wherever they roam.