Where The Days Go

With a list of influences that includes endless childhood summers, Super8, East Anglia and municipal parks at dusk, it's evident that July Skies are steeped in a vision of Albion that finds romance in the chip-paper corners of a past Britain. The musical project of Antony Harding (previously of Avrocar), July Skies has previously released a couple of albums that were criminally ignored - so don't go sleeping again. A collection of material that comprises a US Radio Session, nine unreleased tracks, a couple of Epic 45 reworks and a gem from 'The Height Of Summer' 7", 'Where The Days Go' is nostalgic in all the right ways - mixing 4AD influences a-plenty into a melancholic vision of Britain that echoes Piano Magic, The Durutti Column and Robin Gutherie. Opening through the drifting soundscapes of 'Coastal Stations', Harding weaves an intoxicating blend of water-colour guitars, chiming flourishes and muted vocals into a towering slice of music that will take your breath away. Maintaining this wide-screen perspective throughout, 'Swallows and Swifts' is up next - tickling a tender acoustic guitar melody into life amongst a landscape of echo-chamber vocals and muted instrumentation, before 'The Days We Played' gives you something more tangible to focus on through a honey blushed vocal that ebbs and flows throughout. With everything on 'Where The Days Go' sticking to a relatively restricted palate, Harding makes sure this doesn't matter one jot - as the likes of 'The Softest Kisses', 'It's Late In The Day For Love' and 'Childhood Illustrator' all use their time wisely and find new avenues to explore in the shoegaze firmament. Further bolstered by the inclusion of some suitably epic rewords from Epic 45, July Skies will have you warm and wistful on contact.
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