Green Seagull - Smoke And Mirrors

 

Green Seagull are back with album number three and it’s another ripper. 

Born from the ashes of three of our favourites; The Magnetic Mind, New Electric Ride and the Hidden Masters, their first two albums were masterclasses in jangly baroque psychedelia which could have been plucked straight out of 1968.

Bands who plough this sort of knowingly retro furrow can often get stuck in a rut and end up producing the same album over and over again, but Smoke and Mirrors sees Green Seagull striking a very well judged balance between what we’ve come to love them for on previous records and exploring new avenues.

There’s plenty of the jangle, vintage harmonies and baroque Manzarekian / Mandrake Memorial keyboards which have become their calling cards but here we also see something new in tracks like Walking and Paradise Way, which both have the epic sweep of The Coral circa Roots and Echoes or The Curse of Love, while They’re Coming For You Barbara has such a late Byrds country rock guitar twang to it that it’s a bit of a shock when you notice that it’s not McGuinn’s wispy vocals adorning it. 

Møtrik - Earth

Møtrik are “America’s Best Krautrock Band” according to their band bio, which seems like a pretty bold claim. 

But in all seriousness they might be onto something. 

Granted there aren't many (or any) other U.S bands that I can think of that are as Krautrock as this Portland quartet. And by Krautrock I don't mean that challenging hippy commune free form stuff. No, this is Krautrock for the masses, of the crowd-pleasing Neu / Kraftwerk / Can variety. 

This does exactly what it says on the tin. Their dedication to - and application of - the motorik groove is to be commended. It is absolutely relentless and where you'd think this might get a bit wearisome over the course of a whole album, in their very capable hands it becomes hypnotic and strangely addictive.

Largely this can be put down to two things. Firstly, this is a really nicely layered record with lots of kaleidoscopically lovely kosmische synths adding texture and shade, and secondly these are just really appealing songs that are guaranteed to worm their way in after a few listens. It's probably more Krautpop than Krautrock really given how catchy these songs are, and has substantial crossover potential.

If, like me, you've been enjoying the neo-Krautrock albums that Andy Bell has been putting out in recent years you've possibly just met your new favourite band.

The Junipers - The Solid & The Hollow

Great to see a new release from another of our old favourites, this time Leicester’s The Junipers. 

I've loved everything they've released, and that status quo remains unchanged here. If anything, they're getting better.

The Junipers are one of those bands whose albums sound very carefully crafted in the studio, but also give the impression that if you wandered into their rehearsal space on any given Sunday afternoon you’d hear something with equal polish. It all sounds so natural and unlaboured that it’s hard to reconcile these guys having to go off and do day jobs as it sounds like they do this 24/7. It’s unjust for someone to do something this well and not be able to earn a full time living from it. 

But what does it sound like you ask? A more democratic Wings. A contemporary Honeybus. A more pastoral Teenage Fanclub. Just go and listen to it.

With The Solid and The Hollow, the Junipers have gifted us with yet another instant classic. Absolutely essential listening for anyone with an ear for timeless pop music.  

The Golden Samphire Band - Dream Is The Driver

After only recently catching up with Junkboy’s 2023 release Littoral States, I was delighted to find I wouldn’t have a long wait for new music from the brothers Hanscomb, albeit in a slightly different context to what we’ve heard from them previously.

Dream is the Driver is the debut from The Golden Samphire Band, their new three piece outfit with vocalist Hannah Lewis (who made a couple of memorable appearances on Littoral States). 

Lewis’s vocals take centre stage here, with the brothers’ musical arrangements stepping back and playing a more intuitive supporting role, with a much more traditional and timeless approach that brings to mind more adventurous albums of the late sixties / early seventies folk revival by the likes of Shirley and Dolly Collins and Anne Briggs. 

As on Littoral States, their shared fascination with the Sussex coastline permeates much of the album, with the increased focus on vocals making this even more apparent. As a listener from a much younger country on the other side of the world (New Zealand), this deeply rooted folk tradition holds a particularly exotic appeal to me.

“Life is a journey, not a destination. If I wish to change the path, my dream is the driver” 

The Eighteenth Day Of May – S/T Expanded Reissue

The Eighteenth Day Of May only managed one album in their short lifetime, and I've been a long time fan but have never found an opportune moment to cover it until now.

The band splintered off into a number of other much longer lasting musical projects, notably Lake Ruth, the Hanging Stars and The Left Outsides, all of which have been covered here at various points over the years, but it was their brief time together as the Eighteenth Day of May which was a magical breeding ground of intersecting musical tastes coalescing into something unique in a way that hadn't been seen since Sandy Denny joined the scruffy lads of Fairport Convention in inventing UK folk-rock. While clearly not as pivotal as Unhalfbricking and Liege and Lief, the Eighteenth Day of May is equally as irreverent in its treatment of the genre, with plenty of jangly, psychedelic edges to what might otherwise seem a reasonably traditional UK folk-rock album. Indeed it is said that they were just as likely to cover Spacemen 3 as Bert Jansch in their live repertoire of the time, and vocalist Alison Brice often sounded like she'd be just as comfortable fronting a dream-pop band, which more or less came to fruition with Lake Ruth, although they're equally hard to tie down to one genre.

Tragically they were never able to complete a second album but Cardinal Fuzz / Feeding Tube Records put together a wonderful retrospective double LP set in 2020 which included the original album in full, doubling its original length with a wealth of material intended for a second album. That second album must have been almost ready to come out of the oven, and judging from what's on here would have been even more immersive than their first, with the beautifully trippy Tell Me Tomorrow being something of a career highlight that we're privileged now to be able to hear.

Naturally the Cardinal Fuzz release sold out before I knew of its existence, but new London label Circuitry Recordings has seen fit to reissue it in a limited run of 300, due in May. These are bound to sell quickly too but can be pre-ordered through Bandcamp below where the album can also be heard in full.

The Lazy Eyes - Songbook

Here's another excellent band that popped up during our long hibernation. 

I was initially drawn to The Lazy Eyes when I noticed they had chosen to cover Broadcast, surely the actions of a band with impeccable taste. 

Their 2022 LP is an impressive, fully formed debut with that very distinct Antipodean psychedelic flavour that no one else seems to quite be able to grasp . I'm getting Pond and Violet Swells vibes from this, and that is always welcome. 

There's some serious psychedelic baroque pop songcraftery going on in songs like Starting Over, Imaginary Girl and Nobody Taught Me, which sound really carefully constructed with not a note out of place, but there's also another side to the band where they like to stretch out with some pretty wigged out instrumental jams which is where I think their strength really lies. The relentless propulsive beat of Fuzz Jam and the Where's My Brain??? are both pretty unbeatable in this regard, while the motorik drive of Tangerine finds common ground between early Tame Impala and King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard in the most irresistible fashion.

A really nicely balanced debut here. 

Willow Tea - Death And Life And All That Lays In Between

 

'Naive melodies for imaginary films and short walks' is how the Berlin based Willow Tea describe their music and their latest, Death And Life And All That Lays In Between certainly conjures images of something stalking the land.

This is very much my sort of comfy synth project with lots of lovely wobbly flutes and eerie mellotron choral vocals crafting a sense of creeping incidental unease in a similar fashion to earlier Active Listener favourites The Soulless Party or The Heartwood Institute. Fans of either of those acts would do well to investigate immediately.

And a serving suggestion if I may: I had this on heavy rotation while reading David Barnett's latest folk-horror opus Scratch Moss and it paired very nicely with Barnett's tale of an ancient evil stirring from deep within the earth.

Available to stream or download (on a name your price basis) here:

Telegraph - Topography of Mind

 

If I was given this as the subject of a blind-folded taste test and asked to guess its country and date of origin I would more than likely have posited UK, very early seventies. And I'd be wrong on both counts. 

Topography of Mind, released in February, is the second album from Israel's excellent progressive rockers Telegraph and is probably my favourite album of the year so far.

The four long tracks (all around the 10-12 minute mark) contained within evoke many of the giants of the early seventies UK prog scene and are beautifully constructed pieces without a second wasted. 

Apart from a couple of short verses of wispy treated vocals (think Greg Lake on the quieter tracks from his stint in King Crimson), this is entirely instrumental. Guitarist Tal Rubinstein has a lovely economical style that can't help but bring to mind Camel's Andy Latimer. Telegraph believe in playing to their strengths, and his unhurried, lyrical guitar leads fit in perfectly where other bands might feel they need to shoehorn in more vocals unneccesarily.

There's nothing too busy going on in any of these tracks which is very welcome. Relaxed, pastoral flute and acoustic guitar passages appear frequently (the opening of Valley of Delerium could almost be a madrigal), but they're just as comfortable floating off into space; the second half of album closer Somewhere Along These Lines is distinctly Floydian with keyboardist Eze Sakson's synth leads playing superbly off of Rubinstein's guitar vamps like a lost middle section of Shine On You Crazy Diamond.

Very highly recommended to those who (like me) prefer prog rock of the vintage persuasion.

Analysing A Ghost By Electronic Means

This one is a little more niche than what I would normally cover and given its very specific theme, it’s probably already known by a lot of its potential audience (especially as I’m late to the party). But as I’m only just now learning of its existence, I’ll assume there are others among us who are also still in need of the good word.

2022 saw the 50th anniversary of Nigel Kneale's classic BBC Supernatural thriller The Stone Tape, an occasion that prompted Hidden Britain to approach a group of the UK's leading wyrd electronic artists and commission a new series of works in tribute, leading to the release of Analysing A Ghost By Electronic Means in 2023.

Inevitably with a project like this there will be some disparity about what the actual brief is, but I’d say that 80-90% of this fits together seamlessly which is pretty remarkable given the number of busy minds involved. Those with more diverse tastes than myself may find the hit rate even higher for them.

With artists associated with labels previously championed here such as Clay Pipe Recordings, Wayside & Woodland and Castles in Space, it's no surprise that this is the success that it is. A well balanced mix of more melodic themes and dark ambient incidentals, there's very little here that would have sounded out of place on the original broadcast. 

Particular kudos to The Night Monitor - It's In The Computer would be right at home in an early seventies episode of Doctor Who, as well as to the always excellent Warrington-Runcorn New Town Development Plan who can do no wrong as far as I'm concerned.

Stream / download here: 

The New Eves - The New Eve Is Rising

Brighton folk-punk quartet the New Eves drag the folk tradition kicking and screaming into the 21st century on their superb debut LP. It’s a true Esoteric Britannia statement with their deeply ingrained and quietly terrifying Albion roots merging effortlessly with the anarchic post-punk of the Slits and the Aupairs, the hypnotic rhythmic grooves of Can, and droning strings ala Velvet Underground era John Cale. For a start.

It’s a truly visceral experience, and reaches Comus like levels of intensity at times.

Check out their wonderfully unhinged modernisation and deconstruction of the Alfred Noyes narrative poem The Highwayman, previously put to music by Phil Ochs for a primer. Poor old Phil would not cope.

Great stuff and would potentially have been my album of the year last year, had I known of it then.