The Underground of Happiness

I was a huge fan of Liam Singer’s last album, Dislocatia from 2010 (you can find an interview from around that time with Liam in a piece here which includes a review of the album). It was an album of chamber pop that managed to be both delicate and thrilling at the same time. A good trick that, one you might associate with The Beach Boys for example. For this album, Singer has extended his range to create an even headier brand of dreamy, cosmic pop while retaining the classical shapes that add such emotional heft. The songs unfold themselves in no verse and chorus format but as miniature symphonic movements, driven by one main piano or keyboard generally, with key and stunning second-vocal contributions from Wendy Allen of Hidden Shoal labelmates Boxharp . And once more, her Boxharp partner Scott Solter produces, providing an intriguing sound bed for these off-kilter pop creations. The album overall portrays a kind of rarefied, heightened atmosphere, as with Dislocatia the d...

We mentioned last month the lead track from this album (first released in 2005 on Tell All Records ), from the man who is one half of American experimental pop duo Boxharp . Its seven instrumental tracks run continuously, proceeding at glacial pace - turning, shifting, transforming in a slow, deliberate melt. Textures derive from guitar and synth smears, as well as tape manipulations and field recordings, producing a symphony of heart-tugging power. Overall, there is a pastoral rather than an industrial feel, with the humming and groaning and rumbling of the natural world being evoked. It would be wrong to single out one track over another – you need to hear this river in flow. Suffice to say, this is an ambient work of sublime beauty. *As a post-script, Mark and Laura Solter have put together a wonderful piece of film to accompany the entire album. It's called Twins and Wives , it's a series of stately tableaux (of rural and nature scenes mostly) and you can watch it here. ...

More new music from the Hidden Shoal label from Perth . It's the lead track from American producer Scott Solter's new release, One river . You may already know Scott's name as one half of experimental pop duo Boxharp (who we are very fond of around here), aswell as producer/recordist/mixer/remixer for the likes of St Vincent, Superchunk, Neon Indian, John Vanderslice and The Mountain Goats , among others. This piece has the air of a serious ambient work, channelling both inner and outer space. Gravitas would be a word. I'll leave it to the label for a more detailed description. 'The Great Cold' Is an invigorating five-minute immersal into one of the seven gorgeous flowing passages that comprise One River. Chilly, gaseous tones swell and recede, all the while shadowed by a ghostly high note. The icy stillness is occasionally punctuated by a discreet found sound, which acts as a kind of pivot point between focus and diffusion. Solter creates an unforgettable a...