A few loud things, a few quiet things and lots of lush ebbs and flows in between. Your stereo needs a work out.
Hard-working ‘post-punk meets free jazz’ quartet Maruja return this week with the absolutely fantastic Tír na nÓg EP. The improvised four track set really has such dynamism, a loud and quiet progression with transcendent sax, knotty guitar loops and plenty of psychedelic timbres; all inspired by Irish mythology. Limited and absolutely not one to miss.
+ Pressed on limited and exclusive Green colour vinyl.
Tonal Union release an absolutely beautiful record this week called Après coup from Canadian musician and composer Laurie Torres. Man, she is spinning as we write this and it is just sublime stuff. Piano meditations with synthesizer and field recordings warbling in and out of the mix. It’s subtle so you’ll need to give it a few spins, but each one will be lush. Record of the Week.
Rarely Do I Dream is the new LP from Trevor Powers, the Idaho-based songwriter Youth Lagoon. Across his discography, he has always used his voice so well, but this one in particular is really good; fragile but really enthralling and capable of hitting the big mood notes too. Flashes of euphoria, but lots of gorgeous melancholy too. Dead good.
+ Available on exclusive 'Thunderstorm' colour vinyl.
Irish rock band The Murder Capital return this week with Blindness, their third LP. It’s not without the rich darkness that they created on their first two, but there is a sort of lightness to it too, especially with James McGovern’s vocals so clear in the mix. Rattles along and great guitar tones.
+ Available on limited Yellow colour vinyl.
All Seeing Dolls is the collaborative forces of Dot Allison and Anton Newcombe. Their debut, Parallel, is full of big dream-pop shimmers, all recorded remotely in Berlin and Scotland during lockdown. It sounds way more maximal than its recording limitations, with lush layers of psychedelic production and orchestration.
+ Available on exclusive Transparent coloured splatter vinyl.
Joan Shelley returns this week too with a very limited five track EP called Mood Ring and does she ever sound good! It's a one sided 12” on clear/transparent vinyl.
Lastly for today, Norwegian rock band Motorpsycho return with a (double) self-titled LP and it is just a little bit beastly. It is all about euphoric riffs; seventies stadium sized riffs, eighties AM radio riffs and some long rattling pre-grunge hooks too. If you are in the market for a riff, this one is riffy a.f. It is an album that's very hard not to love.
+ Limited double Moss Green colour vinyl.
