Snow in Mexico are an Italian duo (Massimiliano Cruciani and Andrea Novelli) based in Rome, who recently signed to the hallmark of shoegazing and dreampop quality that is Saint Marie Records. Following this, Saint Marie have re-released the duo’s first two EPs; Snow in Mexico (2009) and Prodigal Summer (2012) are now available from the label’s Bandcamp page.

Snow in Mexico

Both 4-track EPs channel serene shoegazing strains. The self-titled debut kicks off with the long, sustained notes and mildly distorted vocals of You and My Winter and works its way towards Cinema 5010, which winds every Slowdive record ever into as tight a ball as possible and harnesses the energy to produce a killer closing track. By the standards of the rest of the EP, Velvet skips relatively spritely, while Ride could be a tribute to that band’s early seminal shoegazing era, Cruciani’s vocals taking on occasional Gardner-esque tones.

Prodigal Summer

There’s a bit more energy on display on Prodigal Summer, but it still keeps the mood-lighting and chilled vibe. The title track has a slightly cleaner sound than the self-titled debut, actual percussion, and some seductive spoken word samples; taken together all these elements create a world of mild confusion made comforting by the soft synths that weave themselves through the track. After the strong electro-bass of 4 Days, the EP’s last two tracks I Need To Sleep and Code Playground finish off with a tender dreampop hug.

You can download both EPs from Saint Marie’s Bandcamp page at https://saintmarierecords.bandcamp.com/