Audiopile Review: You’d think the current wave of trip hop revivalism we’ve been so enamoured with might eventually lose its lustre — and maybe it still will — but if acts like TEAL continue to reimagine it, we hope it never fades. On Original Watercolour, the Toronto trio’s follow-up to last year’s Bluish Green EP, TEAL refine their dubby atmospherics and hazy street soul breaks into an even frothier lather, resulting in a truly addictive mini album that’s sure to be a key part of our summer soundtrack. Across these ceaselessly absorbing six tracks, you can feel the sunlight refracting through the water above, pulling us along with its languid downtempo groove. Breathy vocals, a featherlight melodic touch, and a prominent flute lend the whole thing a quietly lush intimacy — as if Sade’s Quiet Storm had retreated to a coastal hideout to turn out a blissed-out slice of dream dub. For those still reaching for A.S.O., Dregs, or even Freak Heat Waves’ groove-heavy Mondo Tempo, your next sunny weather jammer just slipped into the queue.

***

Sunny days all year round on ‘Original Watercolour’, yielding six soft-touch cuts of nice ’n easy groove meshed with flute and breathy vox throwing back to Sneaker Pimps and Lamb and the sorts of syrupy ‘80s soul that begat the ‘90s sound, edging on styles also referenced by Jessy Lanza.

Festive romantics will be in their element as the LP flows from the balance of harmonious soft focus vox and flutes underlined by loosely precision tooled groove on its title tune, via the balmy mid-tempo ace ‘Locked in 2 Love’, to a standout of heat-hazed high summer synths, sirens and well-oiled bass in ‘Sleep On it’, thru the duskier tone of ‘Frog Kingdom’ and FM feathered soul vapours in ‘Can’t Shake the Feeling’.