New consignments from The Dream Syndicate, Field Lines Cartographer, Xam Duo, Gabe Knox, Soft Estate and more undergo inspection

As summer rolls in, the below new releases don’t really offer much that directly fits the season. However, they certainly capture artists of various stripes reassuringly comfortable in their own skin with all-year-round artistic reaches.

Having passed the pandemic period with some back catalogue curation and reminiscence – in the shape of a handsomely-proportioned 1995-2005 solo years boxset (Decade), a home-cut cross-era unplugged self-review set (Solo! Acoustic Vol. 1) and an expanded archival reissue of The Dream Syndicate’s somewhat overlooked 1986 LP (Out of the Grey) – the prolific Paisley Underground veteran Steve Wynn certainly did not waste his unexpected time off the road. It comes then as little surprise to find him now regrouping the latter enterprise relatively rapidly to bring forth the all-new Ultraviolet Battle Hymns and True Confessions, via a freshly-inked deal with Fire Records.

Whilst not quite so revelatory as The Universe Inside – the band’s previous longer player from early-2020 which funnelled together some epic exploratory jams – the collection consolidates The Dream Syndicate’s solidly impressive post-reunion studio run that began with 2017’s How Did I Find Myself Here?, through revisiting reliable existing avenues and finding extra detours.

Hence, across the ten assembled cuts there is soaring and sprawling psych ‘n’ roll (“Where I’ll Stand” and “Every Time You Come Around”); soulful 70s Stones strutting and languor (“Damian” and “Hard to Say Goodbye”); chugging VU-meets-Neu! grooves (“Beyond Control”); nods to Neil Young in his gnarliest Crazy Horse-assisted modes (“Trying to Get Over”); traces of the bluesy twang from latter-day Brokeback records (“My Lazy Mind”); and glorious garage-space-rock (“Straight Lines”).

Whilst there are indeed stronger all-round albums from The Dream Syndicate that newcomers should probably pick up first, for the previously-converted this is another rewarding reason to keep the faith.

If you’re looking to get properly lost on more astral sonic planes then two releases inadvertedly connected by their reciprocal titles from Castles in Space are just the ticket.

Firstly, there is the divine Dreamtides,the latest double-sized set from Field Lines Cartographer, which follows on from the recent interstellar Superclusters on Woodford Halse via the deployment of a similar synth palette but with the stargazing themes swapped for subconscious mind extractions. With the deep-kosmische diodes set to hypnotise across a mixture of lengthy and not-so-lengthy pieces, Mark Burford again proves to be a consummate crafter of elegiac and subliminal soundscapes.

Not very far behind in the quality stakes is labelmate Kieran Mahon, with the spectral yet more mother-earth-bound modulations of Morning Brings the Light. Featuring natural world field recordings intertwined with balmy and brittle electronics, the album skilfully smudges together elements from the lexicons of Wendy Carlos, Brian Eno, early-Aphex Twin, Robert A.A. Lowe and latter-day Polypores, to fashion a selection that very much matches the moods conjured up by the eye-catching sleeve artwork from painter Eimear Kavanagh.

Returning with their first standalone album as Xam Duo since 2016’s eponymous LP – a gap primarily punctuated by a full-length 2017 collaboration with Virginia Wing – Matthew Benn and Christopher Duffin pleasingly up the ante with Xam Duo II (Sonic Cathedral), whilst dialling down the girth.

Simultaneously more eclectic and more concise, the mini-album expands, refines and folds down the twosome’s electro-organic explorations into six wordless cuts over a fat-free yet still adventurous 26 minutes.

Thus, proceedings shift adroitly through the Tortoise-tinged electro-funk compactions of “Blue Comet”; the glistening In a Silent Way-laced glide of “LGOC”; the esoteric percussion meets sax flourishes of “Kaisha”; the celestial whirring and fizzing of “The Middle Way”; the aquatic tidal splashes and drones of “Lifeguard at Mohang Beach”; and the post-jazz fusion charms of “Cold Stones”, with highly likeable ‘less is more’ ease.

Whilst Dom Martin is sadly winding down Polytechnic Youth operations as vinyl manufacturing costs mount exponentially, he’s not closing the doors with any less of the A&R nous we’ve come to rely upon over the years. Hence, the arrival of a public service-minded split-LP pairing of ostensible lead PY artist-in-residence Gabe Knox and Mat Handley’s Pulselovers alter-ego Pulsliebhaber.

The former’s side rescues three terrific pieces from the digital and lathe-cut 7” rarities underworld – the C64-meets-Atari synth-pop of “Student Disco ‘81” and “Carbon Bubble” as well as the wonderfully wistful “Cosmic Debris” – to remind us of the Canadian’s gift for unashamedly retro yet intensely refreshing sounds.

On the flipside, Handley explores the elemental electronic undercurrents that might otherwise have been over-layered and polished-up for a more regular Pulselovers release. Over seven raw miniatures – running through Colin Potter-ish lo-tech burble (“Catching Buckets”), Throbbing Gristle grit (“Synthetic Aperture Radar”), early-Human League clank (“FFWD”) and Fad Gadget-meets-The Assistant motorik buzzing (“Underground Architect”) – PY followers that favour the most ungarnished of the label’s platters will be more that sated.

As another mainstay of the Polytechnic Youth family (under various aliases, part-protected by micro-label omertà) and the brains behind Woodcraft Folk and Quakers Stang, the currently Morecambe-based Alan Outram is no stranger to genre-hopping DIY endeavours. His latest lateral step – in the 12” shape of The Painted Ship EP (Mamma’s Mysteriska Jukebox) – captures a collaborative conjoining with two singing members of Sheffield’s art-pop explorers Potpourri, under the Soft Estate umbrella. It proves to be a choice intimate and inventive encounter.

The seven very short tracks find an alluring analogue-baked blur of organ, vintage synths and primitive drum machine layers – bolstered by some passing-through guest guitar from Oliver Cherer – underpinning the desolate yet dreamy tones of Lauren Paige Dowling and Evie Jeanne. Gracefully airy yet mysteriously seductive, the extended-player taps stealthy into the moods and aesthetics of early-Cherry Red compilations, formative Factory Records and Les Disques Du Crepuscule outings as well as recent Second Language anthologies, all within an intricately-arranged and darkly blissful bubble.

More soon please, Mr. Outram and friends…

Seeking to adapt around forever-extending vinyl-production cycles, Frances Castle’s subtly evolving Clay Pipe Music unveils the first in a sequence of 3” CD mini-albums, in the form of O Mira Novitas from Modus (AKA Massimo Pegoraro, a musician and DJ from Genoa in Italy). Delightfully warped and warming, this five-part 20-minute suite is an intriguing adjunct to the label’s main canon.

Veering through found sounds and orchestral cinematics (“Nel Misolidio”), medievalism given an electro squelch (“O Mira Novitas”), strong echoes of Barry Adamson’s Oedipus Schmoedipus (“Il Tempo Trascorso” and “Cabiri”) and Beirut-like Weimar vibes conjured with wonky drum machines (“Theme 13”), this is a charming aural capsule that happily leaves you wanting more after being swallowed by receptive ears.

Adrian
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