TRACK: Space Captain – ‘Birthday Cards’: graceful psychedelic soul on Tru Thoughts


LIKE that friend you have that you’ve grown with and can always WhatsApp in the middle of the night, Brighton’s TruThoughts is someone you can rely on; that you can turn to when the chips are down and you need a little pizazz.

The label’s consistency in panning out the glittering nuggets of artists who can bring classy, classic, progressive or elevating hipswing to the breaks party is pretty much unsurpassed.

Which brings us nicely to the latest single from Brooklyn’s chill psychedelic soul outfit Space Captain, “Birthday Cards”, which you can hear below. 

It swings hard on your hips and your neck, the crispest laidback groove, the mellifluous tones of Maralisa Simmons-Cook taking every note and imbuing it with grace and beauty. “I don’t mind this pain / It’s my little quiet refrain,” she confesses, as a psychedelic glimmer lights her up from behind with warmth. It’s got groove, it’s got introspection, it’s wide-eyed and luscious.

Its theme is those times when opening up is a struggle, as Maralisa explains: “I’ve always been told I’m great at writing birthday cards, but that ability to communicate my emotions doesn’t always translate face to face”, she says. 

It follows the dreamy drift of previous single “Secret Gardens” in establishing Space Captain as a band with a unique and pretty little corner of the world of groove, seductive and leftfield and eclectic.

They’ve played across the States with the likes of BADBADNOTGOOD and Khruangbin; there’s masses of crossover appeal here. 

Check them out at Bandcamp, where you can enjoy a clutch of singles alongside taking a dabble on the debut album, 2017’s All Flowers In Time, which is available on download, CD and vinyl.Follow them on Facebook, Twitter and Insta and let Space Captain bring some indulgently delicious melody to your days.

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