A dense, highly enjoyable experimental pop record by the Irish band, out through Perth’s Hidden Shoal. Spin this to round out the cold weather and reminisce about how good it was. Highlight: Superhawk – an aesthetically brilliant pop ballad with Steve Reich-ish compositional flourishes.
The album has a mix of shoegaze and indie pop sounds, sounding like a more experimental version of Belle and Sebastian. There are some beautiful sounds across the album, however the added experimentation is a bit hit in miss. When it hits it’s absolutely amazing!
Dublin, Ireland band The Star Department trade in lush, atmospheric indie rock, making them a perfect fit for their label Hidden Shoal Recordings. Their new single ‘This Ship Won’t Sail’ flows along with mellow vibes guided by a current of organs down below and a glitchy drum beat. The vocals float on this stream like new fallen leaves.
Admittedly a little crooked and of kilter at times its stuttering and bobbing lolloping motifs adding to the shanty shimmer toned attraction as it emerges sleepy headed from out the haze of a psychedelic prism possessed of a curious out of step artistry that much recalls the criminally undervalued the Crimea while the wheezing antique organ fugues instil a weaving and blissful atmospheric calm that hints of a seesawing sonic axis where sits landshipping at one end and j xaverre t’other.
A superb blend of noisy indie rock and euphoric wall of sound shoegazing sounds, jangly guitars meets big explosive guitar freakouts, like a mixture of Ride and Mogwai.