Innerspace Orchestra, “One Way Glass” (Different Recordings, 3/4/2016)
Innerspace Orchestra is a group comprised of Rose Elinor Dougall (formerly of The Pipettes, as well as an established solo artist), Tom Furse of The Horrors, and Cathy Lucas of Fanfarlo.
“One Way Glass”, a Manfred Mann rework, is their debut single as a group, combining the cinemascopic, prog/wave lushness favored of late by Furse’s main group, with Dougall’s dreamy, psych-inflected, halcyon pop and Fanfarlo’s rhythmic sensibility. The single swirls and sways through 3 minutes and change of pure bliss – from the shuffling, baggy drum intro, on through the raga sitar breakdown towards its completion. A song with so many elements that it runs the risk of coming off bloated, instead feels effortless.
Dougall’s voice is as enchanting as ever, inhabiting the groove and melody from within – she’s an artist whose post-Pipettes body of work deserves a wider audience; here’s hoping she gets it.
“One Way Glass” is out now on [PIAS] electronic imprint, Different Recordings (under license from Smile Recordings). Enjoy the trippy video, below, and follow the band’s musings on fbook and the twit.
A lovely slice of swooning dream-pop/shoegaze from Somerville, MA’s bummed (we’ve retained the band’s e.e. cummings approach to punctuation – please refrain from rioting with pitchforks and copies of Strunk & White).
This new single sees the band moving away from the more lo-fi aspects of their 2014 self-titled release (which is also well worth checking out). A-side, “smoking jewels” features a jangly, finger-picked guitar melody over a muscular, start/stop rhythm; sheer, largely indecipherable vocals are dead center in the mix, swaddled in reverb. B-side, “no reward” adds peals of feedback and a more steady, driving beat.
The 7” – as well as a digital version – is available now via the band’s Bandcamp page; hopefully, it’s a teaser for a new long-player. Check them out there, and here.
Froth, Bleak (Burger Records (CD, vinyl); Lolipop Records (cassette), 5/19/05)
New record from L.A., by way of El Segundo band, Froth. While I missed the boat on their debut release, I stumbled across this one and, well, I really like it. There’s some cool history of the band – which only formed in 2012 – out there. Since it’s pretty easy to find on the interwebs (like, here), I won’t repeat it in detail here: suffice to say, the band (by their own admission) started off as a bit of a “joke”, then remixed a song from their first record for Yves Saint Laurent’s fall 2014 men’s fashion show (which is likely why they are discussed in (en?) Vogue). Oh, la la!
Froth cranks up the psychedelic edge of dream pop and shoegaze, calling to mind similar efforts by bands such as the Brian Jonestown Massacre (think songs like “Evergreen” or “Swallowtail”). Lead singer Joo Joo Ashworth sings in a kind of dazed croon, sounding a bit like Donovan or, more obscurely, Al Stewart.
Bleak‘s nine tracks glide, swerve and swoon by in around thirty minutes or so, during which time the band blends elements of ‘60s psychedelic pop, garage rock, shoegaze and dream pop. Familiar elements are collected and mixed to great effect: the jangle-tinted psych pop of the title track; the BJM meets My Bloody Valentine of “Postcard Radio”; the “Be My Baby” beat in ballad, “Nothing Baby”; the psych stomp of “Saccharine Sunshine”. Album highlight “Turn It Off” combines all of these into a swirling, glorious, tilt-a-whirl head rush of a track.
Bleak is out now and available for download on the band’s Bandcamp page. Check them out, as well, on Facebook. In August, Froth will be on tour supporting The Drums on a jog through the wide open spaces of the Western United States – tune in and drop out with them if you’re in the area.
Highlights include: “Turn It Off”, “Bleak”, “Postcard Radio”.
No Joy, “Moon In My Mouth”; “Everything New” (Mexican Summer)
Montreal-based No Joy return with a track from the forthcoming long player, More Faithful.
Emerging from the bristled haze of their first two albums, these new tracks take a lighter touch. The band’s debut, Ghost Blonde, was mixed by Sune Rose Wagner of the Raveonettes, and No Joy seem to be following a similar musical trajectory; with each release, layers of feedback and reverb squall have been scraped and peeled away like so much wallpaper, revealing a lighter, pop core beneath. Granted, this version of “pop” retains the narcotic swirl and sway of shoe gaze (think Lush, Pale Saints), dream pop, later period Cocteau Twins, Kiss Me, Kiss Me, Kiss Me and Disintegration-era The Cure, etc.
“Everything” is the more straight forward of the two, a hypnotic combination of looping drums and chiming guitar; vocalists Jasamine White-Gluz and Laura Lloyd caress their lines. “Moon” features similarly ethereal vocals, this time juxtaposed against a counter tempo that makes the track list uneasily without, somehow, losing direction entirely; a languid guitar refrain holds things together.
When posting “Moon” on their Facebook page, the band said “it is not happy, it is not sad but what is it?” leaving the answer to the listener. The question could easily be applied to both songs – each has a greyscale, melancholic quality, but is it a wistful look back upon past experience, or one tinged with regret? As with many things, both seem apt.
More Faithful is due June 9, on Mexican Summer (US) and Arts & Crafts (Canada) – a link to a video teaser for the entire album is below. No Joy is also on tour, starting in May – dates here.
“The Things You Do”, “Land Gone”, “Sentences” (Synderlyn)
A novella is a literary form characterized more by what it isn’t than what it is; longer and more complex than a short story, but shorter and perhaps less complex than a novel (and great for book reports! – if memory serves). Famous examples include: The Little Prince, Metamorphosis, The Bridge of San Luis Rey, Animal Farm and A Clockwork Orange.
Novella is also a London-based five piece, with a penchant for both hazy, psychedelic and more dreamy, shoegaze inspired atmospherics What does the band have in common with the written work? Probably not much but, according to Wikipedia, the word ‘novella’ is the feminine form of the Italian word ‘novello’, meaning ‘new’ and I recently heard the band for the first time – compelling connection, no? In this interview (on the always great The Line of Best Fit), the band picked the name at random because it sounded both feminine and like a medication, so we’re all grasping here… on to the review, then.
The tracks on their debut, self-titled EP come enveloped in a Velvet-y cloak of droney reverb and distortion, shot through with sudden bursts of energy – particularly on songs like “He’s My Morning” – and overlaid with detached, laconic vocals of singer Hollie Warren. On newer tracks, from their forthcoming debut full length, “Land” – out May 12 on Synderlyn Records – the production feels lighter, while retaining the psychedelic vibe. Stand out tracks like “Land Gone” open brightly – the swirling rush of guitars (phasers and flangers!) and delicate harmonies invoking Lush and Döppelganger-era Curve, as well as newer bands like Toy, the last 30 seconds featuring a muscular, crash cymbal heavy rock out. “Sentences”, another highlight, unfurls, at around the 1:30 mark, into a blissfully gorgeous kaleidoscopic soundscape.
The Fresh & Onlys, House of Spirits (Mexican Summer, 06/10/2014)
The Fresh & Onlys are a four-piece out of San Francisco. Their latest, House of Spirits, is their sixth full length (the band has also released a couple of EPs). On prior releases, the band honed a sound including elements of psychedelia, garage rock, 70s SoCal country-tinged pop, and a bit of Paisley Underground and Brit-influenced 80s indie rock. House feels like an attempt to broaden this sonic palette further, introducing more drone and ambient textures and hues to broaden the scope.
For this review, I thought I’d try something different and attempt to share my (slightly cleaned up) initial reactions to the each track on the album. Here goes:
“Home is Where” – opens with church organ; crooning vocals over piano, then morphs into a steady rocker – kind of reminds me of Doves. Retains updated 60s via 80s sound. The dreamy, reverbed vocals once the song harken back to the days of “college radio” and import singles from some great UK band.
“Who Let the Devil” – intro bass/drum line sounds like Lords of the New Church a bit (probably just me…). Dreamy guitar arpeggio laces around muffled, Tim Cohen’s underwater vocals – ‘who let the devil walk into my house/ when i was born dying’. Something about the melody reminds me of a Neil Young song, but I can”t figure out which one – it’s driving me crazy. Is that a zither? autoharp? in the chorus?
“Bells of Paonia” – strobed guitar drone, ambient textures over pulsating bass line and lyrics about the effects of a pill. Druggy, Spiritualized hushed gospel feel overlaid with Warm Jets-era Eno. Invites repeated listening to peel the onion.
“Animal of One” -“the point of forgiving/is so you forget/that being forgiven/is all in your mind”. Seventies, SoCal country-tinged pop vibe. Song (quietly) explodes into an absolutely lovely chorus around the 2:30 mark.
“I’m Awake” – to be honest, this song didn’t really grab me. Was a bit disappointed by the chorus after an encouraging opening melody.
“Hummingbird” – an out and out rocker. Chugging bassline and straight ahead drums bring echoes of 80s brit/indie – maybe a less dramatic Icicle Works? Interplay between the lead guitar and vocals is great.
“April Fools” – sweet, airy vocal melodies over chimey guitars – not a million miles away from San Francisco psychedelic pop legacy. Love the guitar line in the chorus. Could use a bridge/transition somewhere, though.
“Ballerina” – country infused. A road trip through somewhere flat, where the reference points in the horizon never seem to get closer. Vocals (here, I believe, by guitarist Wymond Miles) evoke a world weary Roger Miller.
“Candy” – opens with a playful, swinging beat. A slow grower. Would be nice of the guitars were pushed more to the fore to bring the chorus out of it’s shell a bit.
“Madness” – (closer). intro reminds me of the beginning to “Disappear” by INXS (this is not a bad thing). Similar in feel with “Bells” – a more languid, ambient arrangement crashes against a rocky shore of heavily distorted guitars.
Highlights include: “Bells of Paonia”, “Who Let the Devil”, “Animal of One”.
“If you hold me forever, I’ll become bored of all of this together,
You can praise and thank the Lord for keeping us apart,
But the Lord ain’t God; he’s something clever,
But that ain’t smart…
Heaven is real” (“Hold Me Forever”)
Money are a four piece hailing from Manchester, England. The band’s label – the consistently outstanding Bella Union – has made fans on this side of the pond wait several months for a domestic release of debut album Shadow of Heaven (it’s been out in the UK since last Fall). It was worth it.
God. Sin. Religion. Faith (and the loss thereof). Despair. Hope. As the title suggests, religious themes abound – the Christ-like pose in the cover photo; the celestial chords of “Hold Me Forever”; the lyric imagery and plaintive, choirboy warble of singer Jamie Lee. Their label bio states that the band played some of the earliest shows at Manchester’s Sacred Trinity Church – small wonder.
God may be ‘dead’, as the opening track suggests, but remains present throughout – and like his counterpoint, is found often in the details. If we are indeed alone and in charge of each other, where do we search for solace? – sanctuary found in a smile from across a crowded bar; hope gleaned from the sight of a rabbit bounding across cracked and buckled pavement; faith restored as creepers and ivy reclaim abandoned property. A god of lesser things. Truth found in the dim, grey light of morning.
There are moments where the arrangements call to mind the early devotional music of composers like Thomas Tallis. There’s a stark, ethereal quality here; open spaces promoting contemplation – the descending Cloud of Unknowing. There are also aspects of the earnestness which marked the early output of bands like U2 and Coldplay. While those bands lost that emotion along the way to world conquering stardom, the emotion on display here is very raw, at times almost disconcerting. Even in the album’s larger moments – including the Clientele on steroids sweep of highlight “Bluebell Fields” – retain an intimacy; grandeur on a small scale. There is isolation in loneliness, but also peace and quiet and, from this, perhaps solace and rejuvenation. This is an album to sit with and absorb.
While this is truly a ‘band’ – each member works seamlessly with the others – the centerpiece is Lee’s voice. Whether pushed to the fore (“Goodnight London”) or awash in a swirl of reverb (“Bluebell Fields”), his voice resonates. While perhaps not a technically perfect singer, it’s in the bent notes and key drift that much of the powerful emotion is heard – particularly in the title track, where his voice come completely unhinged at its apex. There is beauty in the imperfection.
Highlights include: “Bluebell Fields”, “Goodnight London”, “Letter to Yesterday”, “The Cruelty of Godliness”.
STREAM “The Damned Thing”, the new @writhingsquares single off “Mythology” ~ the epic 8-minute tune is replete with gnarly sax, flanger & flute & is the final single out before the APRIL 26th release date! PREORDER yours today!
Happy birthday to Sarah Cracknell. Here are Saint Etienne performing You're in a Bad Way at Glastonbury in 1994. The full song is at https://youtu.be/BGBnbIaYHFI
It’s time to start babbling with Parsnip, their incredible new single (out today) is packed with Kinks-ian panache and wondrous deceptive wordplay, beyond great:
