Wading through the sub-genres of “shoe-gaze” is an inevitably scuzzed-out, glowing, sticky endeavor. You might lose your flip-flop or you might lose touch with reality, staring down towards a river of warm, down-strummed power chords and crunchy drums for eternity. A minimalist punk-rock duo, boasting an admittedly sparse sound, and hailing from Roanoke Virginia, may seem an unlikely pair of heroes to rescue us from the ever hipper tide of ennui disguised as 90’s reemergence music. But I believe they can do it. Eternal Summers’ Nicole Yun and Daniel Cundiff don’t seem self involved; they don’t seem amused by noise itself. They seem like the kind of kid team I would want writing the soundtrack for finding buried treasure in the garden behind my apartment. You might just stub your toe on Silver’s greatness.

I feel like everyone is trying to peg Eternal Summers’ sound. I have heard them likened to 90’s freakazoid pop masters, Unrest (I can definitely see that), Joy Division, Beach House, and often The Raincoats. All these are viable comparisons but Eternal Summer are an elusive lot. Nicole’s voice proves the most transient and versatile instrument on the album. On “I know How,” she is commanding and kinetic from the start but as she bends her chords to a near frenzied shout, “Everywhere we turn they’re gonna break us a part,” the vocals rise in clarity with the song’s central plea. In fact, on each song the vocals act as a perfect vehicle for the song’s intent. On other tracks, like the resplendent beach jam, “World’s Away,” Nicole sounds like she is channeling The Velvet Undergrounds frequent vocal cohort, Nico. She possesses the same blithe, ghost-throated knack for making every word sound like a whispered secret.

Silver is a bright album, clattering with life and held together by a simplicity that is refreshing in a generation plagued by clutter. Eternal Summers’ brand of pared-down “dream punk” grows both more memorable and enjoyable after the first the listen. Nicole and Daniel are surgeons, slimming down each song to its nutritious, essential core. Many of the songs rest around 3 minutes, other songs are even briefer like, “Disciplinarian,” and “Pogo,” which bounces in and out under two minutes. These songs aren’t teases; they satisfy in a way a five minute song with a bunch of filler never could. “Pogo” was released as a single this summer and was almost immediately championed by hipster oligarchy, Pitchfork Media. The song starts by echoing the Sound of Music’s sing-songy rhyme, “Far, a long way to run,” and continues frankly, “when you’re not having fun.” This chirpy banter feels like it’s not meant to be taken seriously at first but after a couple listens, the simple precept becomes as clear as the metaphor enlisted to serve it. “It’s a pogo life, saying everything’s alright/ when you’re wasting time, you think that everything is fine.” On “I’ll die young for rock n roll,” Daniel handles the lead vocals and Nicole echoes in the background, the outcome is a pleasing 60’s pop experience reminiscent of Belle and Sebastian. The duo’s chemistry works in whatever mixture or dosage they offer.

The illusion of movement is a phenomenon synonymous with the trend-hungry hipster paradigm that is readily accepting Eternal Summers right now. Bouncing up and down in one place (like a pogo stick) only feels like movement when you’re on the ride. Here is a band offering a subtle critique of the patron universe they have been ushered into. There plenty of these “more than you thought” nuggets buried in the album. I won’t spoil any more of them. Buy it yourself on Sept. 28th. Silver is pure gold.