Gossamer Albatross

Having first appeared on this blog in [September 2007] as a recommendation from Adam of the now extinct blog, A Disgusting Blemish, this month finally sees the birth of the debut single proper from Gossamer Albatross - the double a-sided 'The Ground Will Take Us Down'/'Elizabeth, Queen Of The Sea' on 7" vinyl.


There's something delightfully autumnal about the Herefordshire quartet, like watching the leaves slowly metamorphosing in colour then falling gently to the ground. Except it's not gentle. As I witnessed at a recent live performance in London, there's a sense of rich intensity everytime a note is struck, be it by the resounding vocals or by the hypnotic instrumentation. Indeed, Lewis Gordon's resonant vocal expression would be fantastically captivating without being generously laden by a magical folk-pop backdrop.

Here is 'Elizabeth, Queen Of The Sea' from the forthcoming single, a track that I uploaded in its demo form back in April.

GOSSAMER ALBATROSS - ELIZABETH, QUEEN OF THE SEA

'The Ground Will Take Us Down' is out now on Bailiwick Records, limited to 500 copies. Buy directly from [Bailiwick] or from [Puregroove].

p.s is anyone else dying of (man)flu? It's terribly inconvenient.

The Acoustic Hour Part Two

Following yesterday's foray into the acoustic world [link], featuring Lucy & The Caterpillar, Aisha and Jam On Bread, we address some other exciting happenings in the non-electric world.

Looking Glass

Looking Glass is the side-project of Jim Wallis, best known for his role in My Sad Captains, a fascinating band in their own right. The recordings Jim has put up on MySpace include stuff with Andy Bell. He could either be the Erasure singer, Oasis bassist/former Ride man or someone else called Andy Bell. But that little tidbit takes away from just how genuinely enchanting Jim's music is. In the sad event of a My Sad Captains break up, keep an eye on this bloke....

Looking Glass - All Me [Yourfilehost]

Gossamer Albatross

Gossamer Albatross featured on my February podcast [#6] and have conjured up some new tracks, albeit in rough demo format. Continuing their tradition of infusing folk with classical music, the new material could represent Gossamer Albatross' finest work yet. Which is quite the compliment, considering their previous efforts. The instrumental sections, in particular, are enthralling.

Gossamer Albatross - The Queen Of The Sea (Demo) [Yourfilehost D/L]

Pick up the other two demos (n.b they're .wma files) [here]

White Rose Movement

Okay, time for tenuous link of the day. London synthpop affectionados have returned to the fray. I know what you're thinking - electronic music and blog posts dedicated to acoustica makes no sense at all. Well, WRM recently offered up an acoustic version of 'Luna Park', a track from their debut album, 'Kick'. That debut album was produced by Phones, otherwise known as Paul Epworth and combined with a highly regarded debut single 'Love Is A Number', WRM were on the cusp of something big. However, it never quite amounted to anything.

Now, they're back, replacing one member (out goes the ludicrously named Taxxi and in comes Poppy) and putting up a couple of new mp3s of demos on their MySpace. 'Bones' ploughs on with the old sound - an introduction to an album which will probably make or break WRM. Let's hope it's the former. Then again, the acoustic track is compelling enough to question whether they perhaps they could have headed down a different route?

White Rose Movement - Luna Park (Acoustic) [Yourfilehost]
White Rose Movement - Bones (Demo) [Yourfilehost]