If Coachella ever custom-made a pop act, the festival wouldn’t go far wrong with Garrett Borns. The Michigan singer looks and sounds like he’s stepped out of Velvet Goldmine, high-fived Lana Del Rey, added an unnecessary accent on his surname and gone into the studio for the sole purpose of making girls in crochet shorts feel like they’re having the time of their lives but also a little bit sad at the same time. With some heavyweight help from Born To Die producer Emile Haynie and Kanye collaborator Jeff Bhasker, they hoover psych-pop (10,000 Emerald Pools), brooding rock (Clouds), 80s prom-pop (Past Lives), soul (Fool) and even glam (Electric Love) into a emphatic, high-intensity sound as Garrett’s voice ranges from feathery falsetto to, in places, Katy Perry. But these clever retro-futuristic whizzes and bangs boost some otherwise tepid songwriting: strip it out and there are lines like “swimming through the wreckage of my mind” and a few too many moments that rip off MGMT. Still, Made In Chelsea LA will lap it up.
