No matter how much we love all of Honey Owens’ ambient/experimental pop work with Valet and Nudge, it would be a lie to say that we weren’t initially a bit skeptical of her new “house music” project, The Miracles Club. After all, Portland isn’t exactly a hotbed for club music and the city’s arts-and-crafts, über-DIY house-party vibe doesn’t usually lend itself to proper house and techno. But if “Light of Love,” the title track from the group’s new self-released EP, is any indication, it seems that our fears were unfounded. The Miracles Club is actually a collaboration between Owens and the drum-machine-wielding Rafael Fauria, and the pair often cites classic Chicago house as a major inspiration. The ’80s piano melodies on “Light of Love” certainly reflect that, but the song is also bathed in washy melodies and a slightly psychedelic feel—it’s not exactly modern, but it’s no exercise in nostalgia either. Maybe all those rainy days in Portland have got The Miracles Club dreaming of sunny Ibiza.

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