Dream Talk - Still Corners

New album Dream Talk from Still Corners out April 5th via Wrecking Light Records

The new album from duo of Tessa Murphy and Greg Hughes is an album they have been building towards as a two-piece since forming in 2009.

Dreampop would be a category you would attempt to pigeon hole Still Corners into, yet they are a band who are not restricted by such terms, they are a pop band with rock sensibilities or a rock band with electro stylings in abundance that tick so many boxes of influences.

Returning with new album material since 2021's The Last Exit which was well received, the duo return with new songs that are both ethereal and melodic. From the opener 'Today's the Day' which is sounds like a long lost cousin of Chris Isaak's 'Wicked Game' it has this earnest hook that yearns for attention. It is a great modus operandi opener for an album that does not deviate from the hypnotic course it is sailing. This idea of sailing comes full circle in a song like 'The Ship' which appears near the end of the album; a deeply affecting vocal featuring layered vocals and swooning production

Take for instance a song like 'Crystal Blue' a dreamy song that could be the access point for any such dreampop playlist yet it is Murphy's hushed delivery (reminiscent of Alice Boman) that makes it earworm worthy, the deliberate restrained nature of the production happening underneath her is mesmeric.

Fans who know their work will not be surprised by the content available, and for this listener who is familiar with the oeuvre of dream-gaze pop and such contemporaries as Mint Julep will be raptured by this album

The best moments of the album is when it lets the chains of dream-gaze fall away and veers closer to pop such as 'Lose More Slowly' or 'Faded Love' and these fleeting moments enhance an album that will be greatly appreciated on multiple listens. 

At times romantic, swooning and mysterious this is a yearning piece of stylish dream pop ripe for a wider audience and will be perfect for the summer (if it ever comes) as we sway to it as the sun goes down on a festival evening.

Dream Talk is out now via Wrecking Light records

Mint Julep - In A Deep and Dreamless Sleep

New album from husband-wife duo Mint Julep, In a Deep and Dreamless Sleep out 19th March from Western Vinyl

Following on from 2019's sumptuous release Stray Fantasies, the duo of Hollie and Keith Kenniff return with a kaleidoscopic and dreamy shoegaze pop venture that is at times an extension of the previous album and a progression of the creative partnership.

From the album opener 'A Rising Sun' this is not merely an album but a mood piece of contemplation - the sun of the track is breaking through the fuzzy fog we as a listener may find ourselves in as we cope with the mounting pressures of a global pandemic and the stresses upon a person's mental health.

The rich harmonies between the two are on display on track two, 'Black Maps' with its pulsing underlying bassline and gorgeous vocals by Hollie. This track is perhaps the most familiar song structure from the pair, yet as Keith Kenniff explains, 'Our previous material tended to be structured largely in a verse/chorus setting, but these songs are more free flowing and through-composed with a focus on mood and texture.'

The ability to alter your songwriting structure from one means to another allowing the moment or feeling to navigate the song is expressed throughout the album as a shape-shifting quality rarely seen amongst groups. Yet if pandemic has taught us anything, it is that we have to learn to adapt to thrive or move forward in the post-Covid world.

The whole album seems and definitely feels like a construct of work from an alternative dimension or perhaps five minutes into the future; from the ethereal album cover featuring a multi-coloured mysterious shape dwelling near a cave - is it escaping or entering? - to the dreamy mood of psychedelia and imagination which runs the full gamut of spectrums available.

At times sparse but at other times highly emotive, this album has something for everyone and covers a range of mysticism through the use of synthesizers and guitars creating an absorbing ambient collection of romantic dream pop.

In A Deep and Dreamless Sleep is out 19th March from Western Vinyl 

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My thanks to One Beat PR for the review opportunity.