Wishbeard, It’s All Gonna Break EP (out now, self-released, wishbeard.bandcamp.com)

The four ladies of this wonderfully named group have crafted this year’s floatiest local release. Listening to this four-song nugget will make you feel like a buoy in an astral sea, gently wafting to and fro. It was mixed by Erik Blood, responsible for THEESatisfaction and Shabazz Palaces’ records, as well as his own shoegazey solo work. It’s no wonder Blood was drawn to Wishbeard, as the quartet soaks every instrument on the record in a dreamy, shoegaze haze. “Circles” quietly hums along in this manner, intimate-sounding and The xx–styled. The wordless album closer, “Adeline Street,” also billows in a cushy cloud, slowly building into a spacier post-rock coda. But the real standout track here is opener “Strawberry ’79.” It’s Wishbeard at its most muscular, riffing on a dancier Joy Division bass line that skirts around under a skittery, rolling drum line. It’s a refreshingly subtle punk number, and, like the best songs, sneaks up on you. While all tracks on It’s All Gonna Break are lovely in their own way, it would be great to see Wishbeard pursue the punchier tendencies of “Strawberry ’79”; the added beef helps anchor the band’s breezier side, something it could use lest it drifts away into space completely. Nevertheless, if you are looking for something to soundtrack your waking—or sleeping—dreams, Wishbeard’s new EP will do the trick.