Cute Melody, Window Down!

Local Action is proud to present Cute Melody, Window Down!, a new album by 96 Back. Released on October 25 on digital download and limited cassette, Cute Melody takes the dreamy dance collages of 2021’s 9696 Dream and injects them with some pep - those same round edges and overall sense of wooziness is still present, but with higher tempos, more energy and even… some house bangers (!). After releasing three records in 2021 (the aforementioned 9696 Dream, the hip-hop-leaning Flex Time EP and his most recent album Love Letters, Nine Through Six), 96 Back went back to the drawing board this Spring and emerged - in typical fashion - with a folder of 50+ new demos. Listening to those demos, it became clear that something new was forming: a sound that was more pastoral than Evan’s previous work; dreamy and dubby even when up-tempo. While whittling down and developing those demos to a tight 10 tracks, the album’s title track turned into a manifesto of sorts for the entire project - intimate music to let the sun fall on your face too. In 96 Back’s words, “This record is a labour of love truly, pulling sounds and tones together … it feels far more collage like and pastoral than anything I’ve worked on. It felt incredibly natural to put together and sequence, something that I’m super proud of!”