Since their emergence in 2015, have been on a mission to redefine the possibilities of the modern band. Led by singer and multi-instrumentalist Cathy Lucas, the group aim to push the boundaries of conventional genres and styles, through cerebral soundscapes. On their fifth album ‘Archives’, they use experimental and inventive approaches to deliver a daring fugue.
Opening to muffled hums and buzzes, ‘Life By The Hand’, is disconcerting, stirring the senses awake. As you sit back, your pulled into a dystopian world soundtracked by transmission like fizzes and bleeps. Packed with samplers, effect pedals, loopers and other toys, right from the start, the album feels as much like a scientific experiment as it does a work of art.
‘Sugar Stone’ floats into the room. Cosmic and weightless, the exploratory indie track carries the dreaminess of The Orielles. The album constantly shifts between the strange and the familiar. Those qualities emerge most clearly on ‘Familiar Fruit’. A tentative track, it lays the foundational themes of monotonous and psychologically destructive work, laden throughout this album.
If Winston Smith’s labour in George Orwell’s 1984 ever required a soundtrack, ‘Hazama’ would be the ideal accompaniment. Haunting vocals and eerie metronomic noises coalesce to leave “Am I just a slave to the clock in the end?” ringing round your head. Despite this, in its warped weariness, it brings a sense of intimacy and human connection, unlike any other track on the album.
The conventional understandings of authorship and ownership were dissolved in the making of ‘Archives’. The members swapped instruments and lost themselves in the collaborative moment. Cellos, zithers, kalimbas, 3D-printed flutes and other homemade instruments were all at the band’s disposal. ‘Bring Me The Axe’ displays the best use of percussion on this album. Exploring the topics of isolation and defiance, the song is elevated by Lucas’ crisp vocals, which sit perfectly alongside the drumming.
‘So Calm (Case Study House No. 8)’ awakens slowly, shimmering like a ripple on the ocean’s surface. The cello glows brightly, illuminating the playful creativity that runs through the trio’s experimental interplay.
World building is also an important building block in the band’s armoury. Characterised by its wailing strings and disrupted vocals, the title track also includes a spoken word story, involving mills and frog women.
Closer ‘Oral Tradition’ is a relatively upbeat end to an otherwise brooding album. Nonetheless, it’s still unbounded by its ethereal surrealism and serves to successfully wrap up the album tightly. is a refinement on Vanishing Twin’s model of collective music making. Experimental creativity leads to world building and themes of work and isolation are explored, egos are dispelled and stories are told.
7/10