Our Small Ideas

Another sublime hand-packaged release from The Boats, this time inaugurating their bespoke "Our Small Ideas" offshoot, a label dedicated to one-off transmissions and objects of desire for followers of skewed laptop folk and bedroom pop everywhere. "Our Small Ideas" also sees a slight change of personnel in The Boats lineup, with the addition of Chris Stewart providing vocals on a number of tracks, replacing Elaine Reynolds who featured on the first couple of releases. The production here is just heart-warmingly lovely, a fragile arrangement of thumb piano, Xylophone, Melodica, broken toy instruments, laptop and acoustic guitar creating a warm aural glow that works especially well on the misleadingly titled "A Party at Break-Neck Speed", displaying all the old-time mystery and crackle you could possibly imagine, with a Melodica, Xylophone and Guitar playing through a sheath of hiss and skewed sounds that are almost too lovely for words. "At Little Time" is equally beguiling, with the background accompaniment of what can only be described as an abandoned dictaphone ebbing and whirring alongside the most melancholy, sparkling xylophone you'll have heard in some time. "Our Small Ideas" is the most bewitching Boats album since 2005's lovely "We Made It For You" and will make for the perfect musical accompaniment for those dense winter evenings and misty early hours. EXTREMELY limited copies available - first come first served!