Labels: Life on an Island
Review by: MH
This is a solo release by Frances Chang from Giant Peach. I don’t know if there is a band along too but there are certainly more instruments than a solo guitar along the way. It’s quite lo-fi and stripped-down for the most part but a few of the songs have a fuller sound. There is a shoegazy thing going on here with fuzzy guitars and dreamy vocals and that’s fine by me – see the opening track, for example – the reworked Giant Peach track “Coffee Is Dead”. In fact, there are a number of reworked Giant Peach songs on here. She goes all ethereal on “The Moon Is The Eye of a T-Rex Cloud” which also gets a revival. There is a nice, blissful start to this track before she sings over electric guitar – perhaps the best song on here. “Today Pills” is another stand-out and reminds me of Stereolab a little with the synthesizer and beats. Over the album there are a number of quieter songs but also some noisier and more distorted bursts. “Get Outta My Room” turns up the distortion before the gentle “How To Stay” closes the album. The strongest songs on here for me are the more straightforward, quieter ones. This is pretty good – it reminds me of some older shoegaze bands without sounding too much like any of them individually. It’s a calming, blissful listen for the most part and a shame to hear that this will be the last release she puts out as Neato Fleets.