Celeste

VINYL FORMAT. On limited edition gatefold heavyweight double vinyl; comes with a digital download coupon! This is the second album by Nottingham's The Soundcarriers. 2009's Harmonium found a lush and spiked musical template; music so inspired and languid, one's thoughts were drawn to Broadcast and Stereolab and like-minded cosmic travelers. Exactly where The Soundcarriers were really "coming from" was long in debate: Nottingham? The West Coast? Saturn? The sound moves between all three locales. It doesn't really matter where you land, the atmosphere is always perfect. In Celeste, we find a tighter, more focused group. The same authentic analog warmth pervades, but with the addition of new sounds, playful blips and bleeps suggesting an extended musical canvas. The influence of jazz and Kosmiche music becomes apparent, as the muscular "Last Broadcast" floats from the turntable. What a groove! The bass work of Can's Holger Czukay is instantly brought to mind, but soon we find ourselves in unexplored space-rock terrain. A denser sound pervades, that feels far removed from the lysergic whoosh of Harmonium. Any thoughts of a tighter sound are mischievously dashed with the arrival of "Rolling On" - a spirited, bouncy shuffle so infectious, one is moved to remove all footwear and dance vigorously. The song provides familiar Soundcarriers' warmth, blessed with vocal harmonies that echo the magic of Trish Keenan or even Karen Carpenter. Was it not the popular music press who once invented the thorny term "retro-futurism?" The Soundcarriers aren't retro or futurist. Where they succeed is in tight ensemble playing that really swings. A spirited quartet for the future certainly, but one that holds true to tried-and-trusted lessons from the best phases of music history.