Label: Sub Pop
Review by Luisa Mercier
Still Corners comes from the U.K. and “Strange Pleasures” is their sophomore effort that perfectly finds its place in the dream-pop, shoegaze revival that music scene in knowing in this last year. The opening track has a title that will describe you their music in two words only: “The Trip”. It is a dreamy, mostly instrumental journey throug music made of acoustic guitars and sweet vocals that will go on with a more electro twist in the following “Beginning to Blue” where the female vocals are upfront and will embrace you like a good friend. Following “I Can’t Sleep” is really romantic and even thicker than the previous ones, vocalist Tessa is dreamy and ethereal.
I would listen to these two songs while laying in the grass in a sunny spring day, such is their power to hypnotize and relax you thanks to the layered instrumentation and the lyrics: “It’s a fire in the summer, summer, desire…”. The new single is “Fireflies” that recalled me some things made by Lana del Rey on her latest “Paradise Edition”. There is the same longing and the same melancholy paired with sultry instrumentation and good vocals. A video has been shot for “Berlin Lovers” that is quite different from the rest of the record since it is quite minimalist, short and based on the same eletric beat going on and on and on. “Future Age” goes back to where we had been previously, sweeping through drums, guitars and vocals. Another soaring song is “Going Back to Strange”, a lovely ballad while following “Beat City” is much more upbeat and dance-like. Another fitting title is “Midnight Drive”, because those are exactly the images the conjures up in my mind. The album is closed by the title track, a liquid piece of music that will mesmerize all of you listeners. Definetely recommended for shoegaze, dream pop lovers.
Rating – 75/100
Tracklist
- The Trip
- Beginning to Blue
- I Can’t Sleep
- All I Know
- Fireflies
- Berlin Lovers
- Future Age
- Going Back to Strange
- Beatcity
- Midnight Drive
- We Killed The Moonlight
- Strange Pleasures
Line Up
- Greg Hughes – Composer
- Tessa Murray – Vocals