Albosel are a three-piece from Nottingham. They released their debut EP Making, Nothing late last year, and are now back with a follow up, Container. The EP, out on Winchester label Hawk Moon Records (who have also put out releases from the solo projects of Albosel members, Umber and Drops) is an ethereal brand of experimental folk pop that marries the organic and electronic in the same vein as later Bon Iver or Good Good Blood. Take for instance ‘Silver Newt’, with its gentle babbling synths and simple strummed guitar, or ‘Fireball’ that seems aloft with airy nostalgia.
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‘Slasher’ isn’t as dark and creepy as the title suggests, in fact quite the opposite, the gauzy vocals sliding over gentle instrumentation that tumble and squeaks and generally sounds quite cheerful. The instrumental ‘Komorebi’ is chipper and gently wistful, like happy memories on a sunny evening, and ‘Golden Egg’ follows a similar vibe, a cyclical guitar line held in place by soft and rounded keys, the vocals rising above it all like cirrus clouds.
The closing track ‘Manitode’s Goblin Teeth’ is remarkable not just for its strange title but also its equally strange lyrics, opaque references to genes and Armageddon and “the green gel locker”. Despite all the weirdness, the track is mellow and leisurely paced with the atmosphere of a warm and pleasant dream.
“It’s scale
not time
that reveals
all life”
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Container is soft and sad and wistful, but with a hint of something else, some magical force, a suggestion that there’s something else beyond all our human worries. I like to imagine it as the scene on the cover artwork, a shimmering golden cloud that comes out of the woods and wraps around us.
You can get Container now on limited edition CD, or a name your price download, via the Hawk Moon Records Bandcamp page, or from the Albosel Bandcamp page. If you want a CD then you need to hurry because they’re going fast.
