Bedroom-crafted tracks meet otherworldly vocals in an exciting new noise pop duo from England, Echo Lake. Echo Lake’s debut EP, Young Silence, is a dreamlike trip through strange worlds. One track can sound like you’re floating through the air on a cloud, while the next feels like floating through a vast undersea landscape.

I’m not usually a big fan of noise pop, which I am told I have to listen to cranked loud while I drift in and out of consciousness. My problem is I’m way too tuned in to any music I hear. I approached Young Silence warily, but I was pleasantly surprised by the Cocteau Twins-ish vocals interlaced with complex and diverse backgrounds.

Young Silence is a highly thematic EP, with track names that set the listener up for the mood of each song. I listened to most of the EP driving to and from work, and for each track, I conjured up a mental image of the terrain the song was taking me through. I couldn’t see the track names, but lo and behold, “Buried At Sea” really did sound like what being buried at sea might sound like. “In Dreams” really did feel dreamy and wavy.  I enjoyed the attention Thom Hill and Linda Jarvis paid to creating an atmosphere for each song, with its own aura and ambiance.

While some of the tracks failed to grab me, the EP as a whole is quite interesting. I feel like it’s necessary to listen carefully to Echo Lake and to dissect the layers of the songs to fully appreciate it. I also feel like it would be great mood music, especially if you’re throwing a mellow party or just looking to relax. Echo Lake has its time and its place.

If you’d like to find out more about Echo Lake and buy their EP, you can visit their website or their MySpace page. If you live in England, you can see them next at Komedia in Brighton, East Sussex on February 16.