Docks are now back with a brand new seven-inch, Cardinale Nord. A joint release between Hidden Bay Records, Discos de Kirlian and Araki Records, the two-song single follows the brighter threads that emerged on Terracotta Ladder and represents what is perhaps the most upbeat Docks release to date. Which is not to say the balance has been upended. The melodious title track certainly possesses a newfound lightness, favouring comfort over foreboding, but an undercurrent of melancholy remains and the closing minutes find a sense of urgency too.

B-side ‘Barricades’ follows suits, its post-rock roots leavened with luminous melodies that evoke a sense of fondness. The unease of previous releases has matured into something more reflective, as though in maturing, the Docks focus is shifting from a fear of the unknown to an appreciation of what is right there before us. It’s a sensation tinged with both loss and longing, but rather than being overcome by such emotions, it repurposes them to ground us to the moment, and find beauty and meaning in whatever surrounds us.

We’re delighted to be able to share the video for the track (and the first ever video from Docks), so be sure to check it out below:

Cardinale Nord is out now via Hidden Bay Records, Discos de Kirlian and Araki Records. You can get it from Bandcamp, including a limited edition 7″ version.

Artwork by Manon Raupp

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Cloud Factory are set to unveil their debut release, Cloud Factory #1, next week on Howlin’ Banana and Le Cèpe Rds, and the latest single gives an indication of what to expect. ‘Amnesia’ has all the hallmarks of Cloud Factory’s style, rumbling into life and careening forwards with incessant drums and garage rock swagger. But working against this clean cut energy is something more hazy too, a background swirl that adds to the breathless feel, and conjures something of the disorientation hinted at in the title.

It’s late and I don’t know where you are

Cloud Factory #1 is out on the 3rd July via Howlin’ Banana Records and Le Cèpe Rds.

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[Docks create] something at once grand and languid, the guitars weaving a wide ocean over which we float and bob in somnambulant motion, while also conjuring a sense of the size and depth, as though that around and beneath us is worthy of respect and awe.

The band are back with a brand new release, Ballast EP, which sees Docks undergoing subtle change and evolution. Things kick off with ‘Œuvres vives’, a taut, lean song that threatens to expand into heavy territory yet never quite does, and ‘Kiosk’ follows in a similar manner, the foreboding of the opening never quite precipitating into the storm it promises.

This is something of a theme on the record, though that’s not to say the tone remains entirely understated. The subversive, noir-ish tone of ‘Œuvres mortes’ certainly pushes into dark territory, while the slow tick of ‘Nafarros’ does swell across its smouldering length, though again the songs stop short of the post rock depth of previous releases. Even ‘Motorhome’, with its mean, electrically-charged air, does not allow the reverb to take over, and indeed it is absent from ‘Pan Bleu’, which heralds a return to the even tone of the opening.

In this way, the songs feel more mature and confident, relying on the implied and withheld to convey atmosphere rather than merely burying us in noise. Think the centre of a venn diagram between Mogwai’s Les Revenants soundtrack and Yo La Tengo’s for Old Joy—a simplicity that belies its own nature, born as it is from a struggle between melancholic beauty and needling dread.

Ballast EP is out now via Youth Riot Records! and you can get it from the Docks Bandcamp page.

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This month sees Docks put out their first self-released cassette EP, Montseny, which they recorded in Barcelona with Xavier Nadal (of Grushenka) at Binary Emotions Records. As referenced above, the power of the Docks sound is their ability to balance dreamy, hospitable soundscapes while retaining a sense of size and space. Opener ‘Ressac’ is a case in point, the lazy, tidal flow idling with tropical haze, the atmosphere punctuated by brief moments of energy, the guitars coalescing into something more dramatic and moody.

Lead single ‘Defeat’ picks up these threads and develops them further, channelling something of a post-rock expansiveness with its added reverb. The result is a far more brooding vibe, the constant rhythm imparting a serious urgency underlined with yearning. ‘Train’ is not as stark, but still occupies a more pensive state, the track playing out under a wistful cloud until the spiky motion of the closing period, while ‘Momentum’ emerges brighter and more upbeat, its springy rhythm leading us by the hand. However, closer ‘Hyperspectrale’ drops the tempo in favour of a new-found vividness, like melancholic longing rendered in rich, almost tactile textures. The conclusion of the song ramps up once more, the guitars rising above the drums in great soaring crests, finishing the release on its most cathartic, affirming note.

We’re really happy to be share this little beauty a few days early, so grab your best headphones and dive in below:

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