Lorna Irvine reviews 'an irresistible exploration of what pop outsiders can do'.
A dizzying, retina-dazzling album from Welsh singer/songwriter Cate Le Bon and San Francisco noisenik Tim Presley, this is a Technicolor skewed summer treat—like a lysergic ice-lolly.
Opener 'Laying Down Rock' is jangly, but Presley's introspective vocals are like an American Syd Barrett in full 'Madcap Laughs' mode, and the bendy bassline has a way of insidiously burrowing its way into your brain.
'Tim, Do I Like That Dog?' is subtly Krautrocky enough at first, then is smothered in guitar freak-out.
This is the secret—songs seem harmless enough initially but go off at odd angles. It's a gateway album, you might say—and hugely addictive.
The title track is a choppy percussive itinerary of plans, with Le Bon sweetly trilling "fee-ding time" and "cop-u-late" like it's a chore, as undertaken by Anita the sexy synth from Channel 4's patchy sci-fi series Humans.
Nothing is as it seems, and there's a playfully off-kilter sensibility to 'Hermits'. Best track 'Cannon Mouth' is at once retro and modern, like The Radiophonic Workshop as though they discovered the electro dance floor. Le Bon's vocal distortions make her sound like she's underwater, reporting back to the lab.
An altogether irresistible exploration of what pop outsiders can do—an idiosyncratic antidote to bland download chasers.
Hermits on Holiday is out on Heavenly Recordings on August 21st with a full summer tour.
DRINKS (LP- COMMERCIAL): http://youtu.be/OesLm-b5v50
DRINKS - "hermits on holiday" (Official Music Video: http://youtu.be/oDF1JNNc_1k
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