à La Carte Records – Queen City Sounds and Art

Queen City Sounds Podcast S6E11: Observation Room

Observation Room, photo courtesy the artists

Observation Room is a synth pop duo from New York City comprised of Marina F and Chloe Olson. From its 2025 self-titled EP the project seemed to have a knack for vivid and clear electronic production and a keen ear for layered rhythms and percussive synth tone. There is a kinetic presence to the music that became even more honed and fully-realized on the forthcoming full-length Superstructure. Inevitable comparisons might be made with the likes of Book of Love for the crisp melodic sound and expert use of space on all levels of the songwriting and production like a creative embodiment of the concept of the title as an architectural term and Marxist political concept in which the ideas at the foundation of the work manifest in its essence and expression. It works as an incredibly well-executed synth pop dance record but not one devoid of rich subject content as a commentary on the broad and ambient corrosive quality of the economic and political system dominating the world today. But in the record there are stories about looking to a future in which we all survive this time rather than be purely mired and limited by it. Fans of Tangerine Dream, Human League and Talk Talk will appreciate the attention to sonic detail and songcraft. The highly stylized album cover is reminiscent of a not-so-obvious influence on the band, Roxy Music and its own enigmatic yet striking record artwork. The album’s variety in mood and pacing also lends it a cinematic quality with linked narratives that are as personal as they are political. Superstructure will be available on vinyl, digital download and streaming via á La Carte Records on September 11, 2026.

Listen to our interview with Observation Room on Bandcamp and follow the band at the links below. Observation Room is going on a short tour with dates listed below as well.

Observation Room on Bandcamp

Observation Room on Instagram

Observation Room on á La Carte Records

Observation Room Tour Dates

Aug 14 at The Living Gallery in Brooklyn, NY

Aug 19 at Eli’s Mile High Club in Oakland, CA

Aug 21 at The Sïx in Portland, OR

Aug 22 at Le Voyeur in Olympia, WA

Kai Tak and Draag Deliver a Salve on Feelings of Guilt and Anxiety on Dream Pop Single “Jalen Rose”

Draag(Adrian Acosta (left) and Jessica Huang (right)), photo courtesy the artists

“Jalen Rose” originated in email and text conversations between Adrian Acosta and Jessica Huang of Draag during the pandemic lockdown of 2020 with a demo following in 2021. And now the song in its mature, properly recorded in the studio form is being released ahead of the debut LP from the project due out in late Spring of 2024 through á La Carte Records. Taking inspiration from late night walks through the Wan Chan neighborhood of Hong Kong, a locale that is both one of the busiest commercial districts in the city but also ample urban decay. Meaning it’s surely a place that has energy and a certain haunted quality to boot especially after the usual business hours of daytime. Musically the song is in the realm of dream pop but with more rich and textural guitar work mixed in with uplifting electronic melodies and beautifully ethereal vocals courtesy Huang, Acosta and Chelsey Holland. Acosta, Huang and Chris King, aka Kai Tak, of Cold Showers fame have crafted in this song a soundscape that is resonant with what Curve was doing in the early 90s and perfectly blending shoegaze tones and aesthetics with that of electronic music in a way you can easily get lost in for its just over three and a half minute duration complementing the vocals and buoying up their irresistibly transporting moods. Listen to “Jalen Rose” on Spotify and connect with Kai Tak at the links below.

Kai Tak on Instagram

Kai Tak on Bandcamp

Kai Tak on YouTube

The Wistful and Melancholic Tones of don’t get lemon’s “D.I.E.I.N.T.H.E.U.S.A.” is the Sound of Accepting a Dim Future That Hopefully Never Quite Arrives

don’t get lemon, photo by Anthony Flores

The second single from don’t get lemon’s album Hyper Hollow Heaven (out March 26, 2022 on à La Carte Records) has the rather dire title “D.I.E.I.N.T.H.E.U.S.A.” and the lyrics hit with the resigned nihilism born of an accurate assessment of where human civilization is trending. But the music is a special kind of lush, synth pop like bedroom production style Roxy Music or Crush-period Abe Vigoda. In the video Austin Curtis, the band’s singer, seems to party privately in the few creature comforts available in late capitalism before the utter collapse: oddly plentiful, Asian grocery items that seem like a cruel and surreal joke, karaoke night lighting and equipment, late night Vegas lounge aesthetic. This while the audio equivalent of VHS video fidelity and visuals to match has Curtis singing about basically being ready for the end of the world or at least the world as we know it and knowing that it’s kind of too late to do anything to stop it. One imagines if synth pop had existed in the fourth century Roman empire it would take on a tone like this between climate change, widespread political corruption and fiscal malfeasance, deep social divisions, international strife, pandemics and other crises that ended up rendering the most powerful economic and political entity the world had ever seen unable to rally to address the many built in ills that were contributing to its downfall. Many perceptive people had to have seen it coming and had there been a popular art form that survived we might have seen the ancient equivalent of a song like this born out of similar struggles, pressures and a sense that it’s all worse than a recession or political partisanship gone wild. This band personalizes the ambient anxiety of the time with a soothing song that commiserates with us a downer mood. But contained within it is the seed that we could turn this whole thing at least partly around but do you see anyone overthrowing the oligarchic power and economic structure in the next five to twenty years? Seems unlikely so while perhaps hoping and working for the best may as well enjoy some of the small joys of life before it’s completely over. Watch the video for “D.I.E.I.N.T.H.E.U.S.A.” on YouTube and connect with don’t get lemon at the links below.