LOCH & KEY | MUSIC
"gorgeously layered and intricate dream-pop"
"The dream pop spousal duo are Loch & Key, promoting their sophomore album, Slow Fade. It's a self-explanatory title—strong lullabies of soft harmonies urge lucid dream states that catch listeners in a hammock of starry-eyed haze and blanket them with galactica."
"Loch & Key is a dream-pop band composed of L.A.-based husband and wife Sean Hoffmann and Leyla Akdogan Hoffman. Sean is an eclectic musician who has been a member of American Music Club and Bedroom Walls, while Leyla is a multimedia visual artist and lawyer in addition to being a vocalist. I recently interviewed the duo in advance of the release of their surreal new high-fidelity album, Slow Fade, which features elements of bossa nova, folk, pop, jazz, doo wop, and ambient music"
"With their breezy, jazzy, cabaret-esque brand of sunshine pop, L.A. husband-and-wife team Loch & Key are the perfect antidote to the new dark ages contemporary society finds itself immersed – unwillingly, for most of us – in. if 2010’s Jupiter’s Guide For Submariners was more aligned with traditional indie rock of the era, Slow Fade finds the group sounding less like SoCal scenesters and more like trans-national scene stealers – clearly, over the past few years, Sean Hoffman (ex-American Music Club) and Leyla Akdogan have refined their vision to such a point that “dreamy” and “edgy” can coexist within a single tune, from Hoffman’s brash guitar work to Akdogan’s sensual, breathy vocal coos to a general sense of anything goes, arrangement-wise. . . . Easily one of the more delightful surprises of the year"
"light-as-a-feather folk-pop”
“'Madonna Inn' is a dreamy homage to the San Luis Obispo landmark realized through the singer-songwriter’s breathy, perpetual pillow talk vocals."
Past Press:
“A cottony travelogue wrapped up in the cocoon of Hoffman’s golden guitar shimmers and Akdogan’s dreamy wanderlust”
"An endearing tour de pop. California-styled indie, French pop, cabaret lite — the twosome’s fanciful songs flit around on Akdogan’s airy vocals and Hoffman’s subtle guitar work"
"Dreamy retro AM gold with a modern twist"
"Hushed romantic sentiments & gently jazz-tinged arrangements . . . sweet nothings eased into your ear at a members-only speakeasy"
"If you like mellow indie folk rock, this is definitely one to add to your collection. And if you do, don't be surprised if this is an album that you bring out and tell people, "You need to hear this"
"A dose of pure and summery AM pop flavors"
Sean Hoffman and Leyla Akdogan, the dynamic duo between Loch & Key, released their debut effort Jupiter's Guide for Submariners earlier this year and have been sailing the musical high seas ever since . . . The album is a dreamy mix of Leyla's subtle, airy vocals on top of Sean's menagerie of guitar work"
"Deborah Harry gone Euro-chanteuse . . . their songs project an interesting SoCal Chanson quality sparked by the interplay between Akdogan's singing & guitarist Sean Hoffman's quiet but nimble playing"
"Harkening back to the classic California sounds of The Beach Boys and The Carpenters (with) touches of bossa nova . . . an aural vacation set to a backdrop of dreamy AM gold"