Offbeat, eclectic, meandering electronica with oodles of oddball sax and unquantized percussion mark this absorbing and original fourth album by the Manchester trio with commentary addressing issues from consumer capitalism to social media and misogyny. Frontwoman Alice Merida Richards has a dry half-speaking-calling, half-singing delivery that is cut-glass throwaway sarcastic at times, with a style not unlike Serafina Steer when in Bas Jan, or Sarah Nixey from Black Box Recorder. Combine this with opening track I’m Holding Out For Something, which begins with mix of beats and strings like 1990s Massive Attack classic, while St. Francis Fountain is like an avant-garde Pet Shop Boys with Japanese synth flavouring, then overall it’s an unusual hybrid of experimental music that’s impossible to classify. Overall the tone isn’t angry, more whimsical and hopeful. “I’ve got issues to address/And habits to change,” we hear on Return to View. The title track is a short interim woozy world of keyboards, while Half Mourning is another track worth checking with its big beats and improvised woodwind, chaotic piano and waterfall sounds. Overall, very different and bold work. It’s also well worth checking out their 2018 album Ecstatic Arrow. Out on Fire Records, or check out more of their work on their Bandcamp page.
Feel free to also check out our favourite albums of 2020 here:
Fiona Apple to Lianne La Havas to Yves Tumor: favourite albums of 2020 – Part 1
Agnes Obel to Bob Dylan, Phoebe Bridgers to Sault: favourite albums of 2020 – Part 2
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