We are trembling with excitement to premiere today the single ‘Sentimental Health’ from Hobart/nipaluna instrumental band follow, as they announce their signing to that shining beacon of impeccable taste, False Peak Records.
I incessantly bang on about the brilliant stream of artists flowing from the tiny island at the edge of the world. Tasmania – the land of wild and terrifyingly beautiful terrain and Antarctic-influenced climes seems to imbue the bands that arise from there with a certain glacial edge that permeates the music. Think of the shimmering sounds of Martin Kennedy/All India Radio, EWAH and the Vision of Paradise, A. Swayze and the Ghosts and Verticoli, and the story telling veracity of Christopher Coleman, Caelo and Ben Salter to name but a few examples. Both branches exhibit an innate ability to reflect their environment and the landscapes where they blossom.
follow come from the former branch – ‘Sentimental Health’ sparkles and burns with an intensity that seems to take its sharp edges from the mountainous hinterlands and its crystalline chill from the winds that blow in from the south. As an instrumental, it speaks wordlessly of celestial spheres circling in the ether – the guitars are reverbed and delayed, etching curves in the sky, while a relentless rhythm pounds underneath the surface like waves rolling in from the sea. A bed of synths creates a gentle wash over the whole sonic canvas.
Like a spring day in Hobart, the gentle flow is momentarily interrupted by an intrusive blast – rippling guitars like an aquatic flow precede a storm: thundering rainclouds and gale force winds create a moment of dysplasia, of discombobulation, before the world quietens down again and drifts away in a glittering reverie.
This is tremendous stuff: ambient and cinematic.
The accompanying video is a collection of home grown clips of the band members growing up: creating a sense of warmth and camaraderie:
‘Sentimental Health’ is out tomorrow (Friday, 2 December 2022) and will be available here as well as Bandcamp (remembering tomorrow is fee free Bandcamp Friday for artists).
The band has also announced their debut album, ‘Old Haunts’ coming out early on the new year through False Peaks.
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