No Vacation is a dream indie-pop band that came out with a lot of music in 2015, including their EP, Amo XO, but broke up ever since. Fortunately, they got back together and released a new single on March 3, 2017: “Mind Fields.”

Ironically enough, No Vacation is very similar to the band VACATIONS. They both utilize a lo-fi tone, despite No Vacation’s aversion to lo-fi processing on their music.  Still, the general style of both bands is rather similar, with an odd blend of both major and minor guitar riffs.

“Mind Fields” has a very similar sound to Amo XO, but it’s much more full in this single; the music is more layered, and has stronger instrumentation variety and complexity.  Amo XO is a good EP, but it’s easy to see the upgrade in skill and processing here.

“Sifting through your sorrows… it won’t get you anywhere,” a nostalgic tune blends with the melancholic lyrics expertly throughout the whole song.  A nice break in the music is introduced around the 3:30 mark to give the listener a break from the primary, dreamy riff running through the song.

This single shows a marked improvement in No Vacation’s craft (as compared to their releases two years ago), despite previous works being very well done.  Some of the techniques used are a bit cliche of the dream-pop genre, but it still gives something new to jam out to.  “Mind Fields” easily receives an 8/10.  It can be purchased on bandcamp for $1.