As disconcerting as ever, Sir Was returns with his strange washes of bittersweet, feverish not-quite ambient indie. There is always a woozy, cotton wool quality to Joel Wastberg’s sound, making it hard to grasp.
It is hard not to throw in adjectives like ‘trippy’ when faced with Deployed with Little Dragon. It is an organ dirgey duet which is sweetened by Yukimi Nagano’s gorgeous soprano, but still remains off-kilter indie pop.
The Sun Will Shine is a chant of dissatisfaction with quotidian worries, in spite of the upbeat title. See U Again is like Mercury Rev on downers, with its rippling keyboard. And No More Separation, with a tinkly sprinkling of glockenspiel, feels like a hymn to defiance.
It would be intriguing to hear a different mood palette, as pretty as much of this album is, though. It’s all rather downbeat.
Maybe next time.
Out via Memphis Industries on September 20th. A tour accompanies its release
thetempohouse 