ALBUM: Mamiffer – ‘The Brilliant Tabernacle’

An ode to life and light; Mamiffer‘s latest album The Brilliant Tabernacle is a quiet affair, but it speaks volumes about the patience and tenacity of the human heart. Based in Seattle, Mamiffer (formed of Faith Coloccia, her partner and collaborator Aaron Turner, and a string of auxiliary musicians) have crafted seven tracks that exude genuine warmth and gentility over a series of diverse, electronic-acoustic soundscapes.

Opening track ‘All That is Beautiful’ brims with tentative piano, steady drums and Coloccia’s soft vocals. It sounds equal parts vast and sparse, particularly when Turner’s distorted guitar sounds break through towards the end. The hymn-like ‘River of Light’ flows like its namesake, with more of Coloccia’s gentle vocals lilting above a captivating soundscape of flute, drones, pulses, and melodic fragments.

An exquisite instrumental floods the first three minutes of ‘So That The Heart May Be Known’. It’s a wonderful blend of strings and folk-tinged sounds, and is easily one of the highlights of the record. Coloccia’s voice comes back in to focus again on ‘Two Hands Together’, a lament to the light that shines through on the darkest of nights. Following track ‘To Receive’ gives similar treatment to themes of vulnerability and acceptance.

‘Hymn of Eros’ – Eros being the Greek God of love & sex – is an epic nine minute track. It’s a mythically themed, searching soundscape; a resurrection of hope and love spread across multiple layers of classical and folk-tinged instrumentation. The record closes with ‘To Be Seen’, with Coloccia’s welcoming lyric “you are one of us” becoming more reassuring each time she repeats it. This maternal element to her songwriting was inspired by the birth of her first child after her last album, The World Unseen, and it permeates the new release.

“So many problems in the world stem from people who do not love themselves, and have lost a fundamental gift that should be everyone’s birth right: to be loved unconditionally and completely” explains Coloccia. On The Brilliant Tabernacle, she has attempted to remedy this, and as a result, has created an uplifting and emotive record that will ease listeners out of the solitary shadows, and in to the unified light.

Listen to Mamiffer’s new album on Spotify below. Follow the band on Facebook for more updates.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

Photo Credit: Ethan DeLorenzo

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WATCH: ESYA – ‘Blue Orchid’

“I only came here for the meat” broods ESYA on her latest track ‘Blue Orchid’, lifted from her new EP Absurdity of ATCG (II) – Emergent Form, released in digital form today (15th Nov). Filled with buzzing synth textures, direct vocals and pummeling beats; the song fleshes out the absurdities of our relationships and interactions with each other.

ESYA (aka Ayşe Hassan of Savages/Kite Base/180dB) has been busy cutting her teeth on the solo electronic music circuit since the release of her debut EP, Absurdity Of Being, in 2018. The first of a trio of records, Absurdity of ATCG (I), followed shortly after, and her latest release Absurdity of ATCG (II) – Emergent Form, now completes her “wonky exploration” of alternate personas.

Laced with themes of acceptance and growth, ESYA’s music is a captivating blend of experimental electronics and urgent lyricism. ‘Blue Orchid’ extrapolates on these elements, as do the other six tracks on the new EP. They’re also underscored by a scientific idea, as ESYA explains further:

“This EP is about becoming the next version of yourself, about engaging in the process of coming into being, or becoming prominent…ATCG refers to the building blocks in human DNA, that set the foundations of what we will be before we take our first breath along with the absurdity we encounter in the life/society we are born into. The intention is to be honest, abrasive and direct, confronting the things we fear the most.”

We can’t wait for ESYA to headline our next gig at Notting Hill Arts Club on Sat 30th November. Tickets are available on DICE, and you can find all the event info here. Watch the video for ‘Blue Orchid’ below (directed by Alex Keegan), and grab a copy of ESYA’s new EP on vinyl here.

Kate Crudgington
@KCBobCut

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Track Of The Day: Tuvaband – ‘Ambiguous Flies’

Having previously received acclaim for her debut album Soft Drop and being named ‘One To Watch’ by The Guardian, Norwegian artist Tuva Hellum Marschhäuser – aka Tuvaband – has now shared intense new single ‘Ambiguous Flies’.

Exploring “the line between passion and insanity”, ‘Ambiguous Flies’ flows with a dark, ethereal energy, propelled by the swirling whirr of guitars and the soaring power of Tuva’s rich vocals. Building with captivating atmospherics, it oozes a sweeping majesty creating a simply spellbinding soundscape. Of the track, Tuva explains:

“I wanted a more distorted sound, and live, my band and I really tried to push the boundaries from my released music by moving from stripped down and vulnerable, to trying to sound like a punk/rock band”.

‘Ambiguous Flies’ is out now, with Tuvaband’s upcoming album I Entered The Void set for release on 27th November, both via Brilliance Records. Catch Tuvaband live at The Lexington on 5th February 2020.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

Photo Credit: Ruben Jacob Fees

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Track Of The Day: Captain Handsome – ‘I Wish I Had A Dog’

Having been a pretty massive fan of indie-pop superstars Fightmilk for a couple of years now, it’s exciting to see that Lily from the band has now shared the first single from new solo project Captain Handsome.

A poignant exploration of every-day anxieties, ‘I Wish I Had A Dog’ flows with jangly hooks and a gentle electro whirr as Lily’s distinctive silky-smooth-yet-gritty vocals ooze a touching raw emotion. With a twinkling lo-fi scuzz alongside the sensitivity of Lily’s refreshingly honest and consistently relatable lyricism (“I feel so strange and I can’t keep up”), it’s a slice of effervescent indie-pop that tugs at the heartstrings in all the right ways.

(FYI, though, I really wish I had a cat or a rabbit like the one pictured, not a dog…)

 

‘I Wish I Had A Dog’ is out now via Reckless Yes, and is taken from Captain Handsome’s upcoming EP, set for release in early 2020.

Mari Lane
@marimindles

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