"The Palace Garden, 4 am" is one of the standout tracks from Seattle-based Beat Connection's debut album The Palace Garden (2012). The post-chillout, summer vacation-time aesthetic it aims to achieve is probably self-explanatory, with lyrics like 'You glimmer in the light/ Movin' to the rhythm of the summer night' and 'A shimmer in the night is all I needed' - all accompanied by sunny synthesizers and a dance-inducing bassline.
As The Guardian's Dave Simpson notes, that Beat Connection's "breezy grooves" are the perfect soundtrack for a languid summer by the beach: "Waves of synthesisers crash like warm air; everything from maracas to steel drums to tugging basslines are employed to give The Palace Garden the atmosphere of sun-kissed afternoons and endless beaches ...On some tracks, a hazy, almost indiscernible hint of melancholy mirrors that August feeling that summer is creeping away".
With a strong and solid melody, simple yet effective lyrics, dependable vocals by Tom Eddy and a feet-tapping inducing tune, "The Palace Garden, 4 am" blends electronica, indie-rock and disco pop to create a leisurely soundscape that practically everyone can appreciate. As PopMatters' Zachary Houle notes, Beat Connection doesn't seem to have overly grandiose aesthetic ambitions with their debut album; it's all about agreeable dance-tunes and thoughful lyrics to keep the party going:
"Beat Connection do a massive job of bringing people together in clubland to get up and move with melodies that engagingly stick – in your head, in your soul, in your shoe. It’s a record that’s in that hazy hinterland of being nearly excellent, but admirably coasts in as a solid, decent effort with some memorable, catchy songs. And that’s ultimately what good rock, or electronica, does. It moves you, somehow. So screw the debate as to whether this is (indie) rock or dance music. Beat Connection do a great job of bringing some punch to the genres they mire themselves in, and, overall, they’ll have you partying like it is 1997 all over again."
