Michael Ramos was last seen on this pages with The Pennys, a new project with R.E. Seraphin. The prolific yet elusive lo-fi pop whisperer from the Bay area recently toured Japan with a new Tony Jay lineup—and brought along a brand new album made just for the trip. faithless, recorded ahead of the tour and inspired by Japanese favorites like Les Rallizes Dénudés and Shizuka, sold out on tape before they even made it home. Luckily, the album is now available digitally.

faithless is tailor-made for listeners who like their indie pop lo-fi, hissy, experimental, and heavy on the sighs and instrumentals. These eleven tracks (ten originals and a cover of The Gabys’ Familiar Dreams) feel like a transmission from a soft-focus parallel world—one where heartbreak stems from how gorgeous everything looks and sounds. It’s lullaby music for outsider romantics with their heads halfway in the clouds. Current favorite? Masato’s Notebook.

That Michael Ramos… I don’t know, man. His music always sounds like it’s from a completely different lane than what I usually play, but somehow it always pulls me in and makes me wish I visited his corner of the map more often.

Add to wantlist: Bandcamp