Movietone
The Sand and the Stars
Drag City
Oh yes! The time for this album has come! Standing right on the cusp of spring, being slowly taunted with a wisp of warm air and shades of deepening green one day only to have cascading gray skies and snow covered cars the next, I’ve needed this. Until those gloomy days start to submit to inevitable seasonal change I’ll keep my window blinds shut and this album on my stereo.
Recorded primarily on beaches, the album’s nocturnal psychedelic jazz buzzes with ambient noises and summer sounds: distant bird cries, the ebb and flow of the tide, creaking chairs, etc. These natural surroundings suffuse the band with a much more upbeat swing than they’ve had on their previous releases, bringing with it a sense of confidence in song arrangements. Banjos, woodwinds and subtle samba melodies create a wonderfully sultry South American atmosphere over top of the band’s traditional British slow-core folk-isms. The result is geographic pop that spans half the globe. Add to this Kate Wright’s sighing travelogues and intimately whispered invitations, and this becomes a definite contender for album of the year.
Drag City: http://www.dragcity.com/
