FULL TIME HOBBY RECORDS 10th June, 2016
“We are human and we hurt each other and we hurt ourselves”, sing Throws, in a song about being a safe harbour. But I’m not that bothered about the lyrics; this album is about the sounds and textures of Mike Lindsay and Sam Genders. The heart of Tuung, this duo specialised in crossing the acoustic / electronic divide, conjuring atmospheres. This set is them having fun in the studio, trying even more sounds and even experimenting with genres, dropping elements of different musics into the pot.
Sam has produced solo work since Tuung’s last album (ten years ago) but was still excited by the idea of spending time with Lindsay in Reykjavik and a month there turned out to be party, catharsis and creation. Playing with big pop sounds, catchy choruses, singer-songwriter guitar ballad, soul, northern soul, an album of Pick’n’Mix was assembled. Less unified in tone than Tuung, this set is the sound of two friends having fun exploring sounds. Sam Genders’ lyrical work is as we have come to expect, a searchlight on relationships and the dilemmas of life, alongside a side-order of the delusions we choose to believe about ourselves.
This being Mike Lindsay’s own studio, the pair were under little pressure and clearly spent time trying ideas and following them through into songs or parts of songs. High Pressure Zone might be a good jumping on point, with its pumping soul-pop but any other track will find you stumbling over gentle electronics, burping synths and falsetto (or otherwise) vocals, sometimes yearning, sometimes soulful, sometimes blissful. Visit Sun Gun for the blissed out side to the album.
A good-natured and characterful album, this is a powerful argument for locking Mike and Sam in a tower every year and not letting them out till they refresh our ears with another album.
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