Guitarist and songwriter Shana Clevelant has conjured up another winning album, all while dealing with the birth of her son and a breast cancer diagnosis. The tunes here run the gamut from folk (‘Blue Jay’) with a slight nod to The Beatles (in my head at least) over to the bright sunshine fuzz pop on ‘Strange World’, where new drummer Audrey Johnson kicks butt on this track.
‘Dandelions’ is a beautiful example of kosmische mashed up with hauntology and psych. Cleveland’s sweet voice just soars on this tune, and it is possibly my favorite in this collection.‘Poppies inhabits a quieter corner where dream pop means gentle indie folk, modern in sound but sounding like vintage instruments were employed here. ‘Good Luck With Your Secret’ is haunting, and suggests a connection to bands such as Lake Ruth, Stereolab, and Broadcast. ‘Always In Love’ dives headfirst into 60s vintage pop, while the follow on ‘Close Your Eyes’ has post rock aspects swirled in with pretty vocals.
‘Blue Moth Cloud Shadow’ is a lovely slice of dream pop with a dash of shoegaze tossed in. Yet, it is a bit jarring to the senses, as Shana may have intended. ‘News of the Universe’ starts off proggy, but its pastoral feel leads you down a path to the garden of forbidden fruit. Seriously though, it is a wonderful tune. ‘Moon in Reverse’ and the aforementioned ‘Blue Jay’ are the final pieces in this song suite. An oddly compelling record from one of our best modern songwriters out there. Long may this band run!
