THE GOLDEN HOUR EP

Release date: January 6, 2012

FORMATS:

CD EP (AVAILABLE AT SHOWS/ORDER)

DIGITAL EP (DOWNLOAD THROUGH BANDCAMP)

SELECTED REVIEWS:

“The Golden Hour has set the bar very high for electro-pop in 2012. This is essential listening for anyone with ears and a heartbeat.” - Voyage North (CBC Radio One)

“There is a familiar feeling to the music of Ocean City Defender that wraps itself around the listener like a fuzzy blanket. The lush synth-pop of The Golden Hour weaves danceable beats through earnest, muted vocals and foggy guitars that capture the conflicting urges to dance or just sit and smile at the sun…” - !earshot

“You don’t have to dig very deep in his material to hear the wide range of 80’s post-punk influences that play out vicariously through a more modern love for warm and dreamy synth-pop. Using a steady wall of lush instrumentals and hazy vocals, OCD’s K. Preston Merkley makes a habit of breaking the pattern you might expect a solo performer to find sanctuary in.” - BIRP.fm

This EP is the stuff of dreams, and dream dates. K. Preston Merkley (the sole Defender) has self-recorded and self-released a set of five magical electro-pop songs. The sound is clean and bright with delicately layered synths and fuzzy guitars… If you like M83, you should meet his soft-spoken best friend. You will fall in love.” - The Walleye Arts & Culture Magazine

“I could write a whole paragraph about how the Ontario-based musician K. Preston Merkley (going by Ocean City Defender) creates warm shoegaze synthpop that makes you want to lay on a hill in the sun and stare into the clouds. Or how the fuzzy melodies just tend to make you feel good inside…” - Mistaken For Strangers

“The mellow waves flow like Simple Minds, New Order (but smoother), Yaz, etc.” - Berkeley Place Blog