Recalling

VINYL FORMAT. Tracks: "Recalling" b/w "Are You Going Blind?" San Francisco's Make a Mess Records ventures across the pond for its ninth release, the debut 7-inch single from London's The Proper Ornaments, on which the English duo offers up two songs of languid drift, rainy-day vibes and ethereal pop power. "Recalling" rides a motorik pulse into dreamy, dimly lit terrain, simultaneously mannered and damaged, melodies moving back and forth between keyboards, guitars and voices. "Are You Going Blind?" is sadder and softer, evoking a classic British pop landscape of gray streets, upturned collars and haunting harmonies. The group shares members with the current goth-tinged, punk-flecked indie pop sensations Veronica Falls (7-inches on No Pain in Pop, Trouble Records and Captured Tracks) and the now-defunct Sexy Kids (7-inch on Slumberland Records). One Ornament also spends time on the other side of the aisle, issuing underground missives with the Germs of Youth record label.