Labels: Slow Release Records
Review by: MH
I picked this one out of the digital release pile as one of the members of this duo, Simon Kobayashi, also plays in Smallgang and I enjoyed their “San” full length when I reviewed it on here a few months ago. This time things are more stripped down but the feel is melancholy and there’s lots of fingerpicked acoustic guitar which makes me think of that last Geoff Farina album. There is also input from another Smallgang member on drums on a couple of songs as well as cello from someone who is in Something Beginning With L. The opener is a sad and gentle acoustic track and makes for a nice opening before the full band appears on “Dartford Tunnel”. I think it’s the first time I’ve heard anyone sing about that tunnel. I particularly like the more stripped-down tracks on here and I think that’s where they excel but it’s a solid listen throughout – definitely more of a late night listen for me too. If I had to pick the standouts I’d be talking about the opener, the quite gorgeous “I’ll Get Back To You” and the lovely final track, “You Corrupted Me”. It looks like they have had some pretty good gigs in their 3-year existence alongside Jason Molina and Chris Brokaw amongst others. You can tell that those guys are influences as well as the likes of Sun Kil Moon. It’s heart on their sleeve stuff in terms of their influences but this is an impressive set of songs.