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CD
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UTR 136CD
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Available on CD for the first time. The Green Child is the once long-distance, now based in the same house recording project of Raven Mahon (furniture maker and former member of Grass Widow) and Mikey Young (recording engineer and band member of Total Control, Eddy Current Suppression Ring). The duo draws its spectral pop sound from an illusory past as much as they stalk into pastures new. Broadly retro-futuristic in scope, verdant acres of lushly evocative synthesizers and vintage drum machines underpin most of The Green Child's upbeat yet decidedly uncanny songs. More assured and auspicious, the songs collected on Shimmering Basset are concerned with life after relocation and deal with distance and staying connected. Shimmering Basset also concerns itself with the subjects of transport, escape, the centering of home, humanity in the performative news arena and the idea of time being a beast, animate and hungry. "Fashion Light" conjures up a brilliance from the first few sparks of the album, spinning dizzy dots of synth melody into a classy slice of avant-pop, with live drums courtesy of Shaun Gionis. "Low Desk: High Shelf" follows in likewise sprightly mode. Glancing synths criss-cross, worthy of Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, echoing off the straight-up beat, allowing Raven's collected vocal to stitch its haunted path. A floating kick drum sets off the shivery flurries of sound on "Witness", featuring bristling electronic percussion from James Vinciguerra. Blossoming basslines and saxophone blushes sweep through the relaxed atmosphere of "The Installation". "Tony Bandana" makes a break for it as a rock song with Arron Mawson lending his bass skills to the foray. The Green Child acknowledge an interesting array of musical cues from New Musik via Sade to Hot Chocolate, the latter most keenly felt on the slinky groove behind "Dreamcom". Clockwork sequencing, drawbar organ amid bouncing guitar spirals and a lightness of vocal touch make for a potent potion. The duo covers "Resurrection" by Canadian '60s popsmith Andy Kim later on the record, turning his orchestral "hymn of searching" into a grandiose tower of overlapping drones, languid vocal reverb, and strummed chords. Meanwhile, "Health Farm" is awash with questing keyboard melodies, its notes speeding into each other like Boards Of Canada with the legato ramped up. "Double Lines" draws this fascinating album to an end, seeping into the room like an apparition. Shimmering Basset is a robust album of compelling melody, expanded vision, and melancholic grandeur.
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LP
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UTR 136LP
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The Green Child is the once long-distance, now based in the same house recording project of Raven Mahon (furniture maker and former member of Grass Widow) and Mikey Young (recording engineer and band member of Total Control, Eddy Current Suppression Ring). The duo draws its spectral pop sound from an illusory past as much as they stalk into pastures new. Broadly retro-futuristic in scope, verdant acres of lushly evocative synthesizers and vintage drum machines underpin most of The Green Child's upbeat yet decidedly uncanny songs. More assured and auspicious, the songs collected on Shimmering Basset are concerned with life after relocation and deal with distance and staying connected. Shimmering Basset also concerns itself with the subjects of transport, escape, the centering of home, humanity in the performative news arena and the idea of time being a beast, animate and hungry. "Fashion Light" conjures up a brilliance from the first few sparks of the album, spinning dizzy dots of synth melody into a classy slice of avant-pop, with live drums courtesy of Shaun Gionis. "Low Desk: High Shelf" follows in likewise sprightly mode. Glancing synths criss-cross, worthy of Orchestral Manoeuvres In The Dark, echoing off the straight-up beat, allowing Raven's collected vocal to stitch its haunted path. A floating kick drum sets off the shivery flurries of sound on "Witness", featuring bristling electronic percussion from James Vinciguerra. Blossoming basslines and saxophone blushes sweep through the relaxed atmosphere of "The Installation". "Tony Bandana" makes a break for it as a rock song with Arron Mawson lending his bass skills to the foray. The Green Child acknowledge an interesting array of musical cues from New Musik via Sade to Hot Chocolate, the latter most keenly felt on the slinky groove behind "Dreamcom". Clockwork sequencing, drawbar organ amid bouncing guitar spirals and a lightness of vocal touch make for a potent potion. The duo covers "Resurrection" by Canadian '60s popsmith Andy Kim later on the record, turning his orchestral "hymn of searching" into a grandiose tower of overlapping drones, languid vocal reverb, and strummed chords. Meanwhile, "Health Farm" is awash with questing keyboard melodies, its notes speeding into each other like Boards Of Canada with the legato ramped up. "Double Lines" draws this fascinating album to an end, seeping into the room like an apparition. Shimmering Basset is a robust album of compelling melody, expanded vision, and melancholic grandeur. 180 gram vinyl.
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LP
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UTR 102LP
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The Green Child is the long distance musical collaboration of Mikey Young and Raven Mahon, who met in 2013 in when their bands, Total Control and Grass Widow played a show in Oakland, California. They started writing songs together in Australia in 2014 and the project has been on a slow burn since. Their self-titled debut album is the culmination of few years of putting ideas together internationally and periodically recording in Mikey's home studio. Some of the lyrical content and the band's name was inspired by Herbert Read's 1935 utopian, communist, sci-fi novel called The Green Child. With such a choice name, it's no surprise that The Green Child draw their sound from an illusory past as much as they stalk into pastures new. Broadly retro-futuristic in scope, verdant acres of lushly evocative synthesizers and blippy drum machines underpin most of their upbeat yet decidedly uncanny songs. Raven's calmly scenic and measured vocal flits like a will-o'-the-wisp throughout the tracks, proffering a guiding hand as she walks us through the often eerie, electronic concoctions. "Traveler" opens the album all redolent, beat-minded, and labyrinthine. Twisting melody lines swirl and envelop like a sandstorm, whilst Raven coolly projects on a "solitary man" lost to "green oblivion". Similarly, "Her Majesty II" glistens with its playful yet plaintive vocal and iridescent arpeggios, whilst "Bertha" slows things down with tumbling chimes and stately use of space. The Green Child is adept at atmosphere, their songs are refined from gently unfolding ideas that never fail to realize and build to their potential. Tracks like "Walking Distance", featuring Al Montfort on saxophone, and "New Years Eve" are exercises in evolved composition with ideas budding off and blossoming into truly resonant dimensions. The band's cover of "Marie Elene", by Keith Pearson, and closing track "Destroyer" are further crowning achievements, both pieces subtly handled with poise and ample melancholic grandeur. The Green Child fix their sights on the heights they want to reach within their songs and much like the project itself don't want to rush to the finish line. When it becomes more about the unfurling journey, why not take the time to enjoy the trip and burn slower?
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