The world may continue going blue in the face while holding its breath for a new Postal Service release—in the meantime, Denver has its own flag-bearers of electronica-spiked pop in Gritch...the new EP Sunday Morning Train—whose release is being celebrated at the Larimer Lounge Saturday—is a simultaneously warm and icy slice of aural sweetness.

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The members of Gritch were definitely on to something titling their debut full-length The World Was Asleep... The music presented here is perfect for an inexplicably early start on an uneventful and unexpected day off, when everything feels hazy, peaceful and comfortingly dreamlike for longer than you have any right to expect. The combination of electronic pop and traditional rock instrumentation recalls the sublimely sentimental and melancholy tones of Technique-era New Order and OMD circa Architecture and Morality. "Sunday Morning Train" is the perfect song for a rainy day in early spring, while "In the Meantime" is classic down-tempo synth pop in an era littered with superficial attempts at innovative soundscaping. Displaying an instinct for moodily uplifting melodies, Gritch's initial offering is impressive by anyone's standards. - Tom Murphy

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