What’s This Playlist All About? While the buoyant alt-rock band is a bit mysterious about the meaning behind the playlist, it appears to at least be linked to the release of their upcoming third album, A Brief Inquiry into Online Relationships. It’s also worth noting that they’ve often alluded to the playlist’s name, like in this Red Bull Music interview: “The faded splendour—beautiful pop songs so distorted they create a kind of faded splendour.”What You Get: All sorts of indie rock treasures, from Madchester to the Midwest, starting with Ride’s swirling beauty “Vapour Trail,” The Replacements’ timeless piano banger “Androgynous,” and New Order’s damn-near-perfect “Ceremony.” Later, we’re treated to beautiful distortion at its most sublime with The Jesus and Mary Chain’s “Just Like Honey” and My Bloody Valentine’s “Soon.”Best Surprise: The searing splendor of perpetual drone/noise-rock underdogs Ramleh with 1995’s “Chicago Balloon Riders.”How Awesome is This Playlist? Infinite thumbs up for this one. For the budding indie rock snob, this is a hell of a starter kit.
