Feeling no doubt burdened by the various claims of being the new Sex Pistols, and likely fed up with accusations that the walls of feedback were their own trick, the Reid brothers underwent a bit of a rethink with Darklands. The end result must have fallen squarely between two camps -- hardly eligible for sunny commercial airplay, not quite as flailing as the earliest efforts -- but, from a distance, this is an appealing, enjoyable record. Songs were often longer while the album itself was shorter than Psychocandy, walls of sound were often stripped away in favor of calmer classic rock twang and groove, while William Reid took the lead vocal at points, showing he had a slightly sweeter, wistful tone in comparison to his brother. However, the changes on Darklands can be overstated -- the basic formula at the heart of the band (inspired plagiarism of melodies and lyrics alike, plenty of reverb, etc.) stayed pretty much the same, even if the mixes were cleaned up -- compare "Down on Me" to any Psychocandy cut for a good example of the difference. The use of drum machines in place of Bobby Gillespie's rumble tended to enforce the newer focus, but at the album's best, such a seeming dichotomy didn't cause too much worry. "April Skies" made for a great single, while the soaring-in-spite-of-itself "Happy When It Rains" was another winner, one that Garbage more or less made its own some years later for its own similarly titled hit. William's singing turns made for other highlights as well, notably "Nine Million Rainy Days," the overt misery of the title suiting the dark crawl of the song, and the lengthy lament "On the Wall." Darklands is no Psychocandy in the end -- nothing the band released later ever was -- but it's still a good listen.

神戸の4人組インディーロック・バンド The fin.が、1stフルアルバム『Days With Uncertainty』のリリースより1年3ヶ月ぶりとなる待望の新作ミニアルバム『Through The Deep』を3月16日にHIP LAND MUSICよりリリースする。本作はライブでは既に披露しているチルウェーヴ、シンセポップ、エレクトロニカ色を強く出した「Diver」、Anchorless Ship」を含む新曲5曲と、UKの名門レーベル DOMINO RECORDSより2015年9月にデビューし、「Noir Wave」という新しいジャンルを確立した南アフリカ、ケープタウンの新星『Petite Noir』による「Night Time」のRemixを収録している。本作は前作までと同様に、レコーディングからミックスまでをYuto Uchino(Vo/Synth)がすべてを行っており、またマスタリングには前作同様にAnimal Collective、Washed Out、Deerhunterなどのマスタリングを手掛けているJoe Lambertを起用している。

這張The Perfect Prescription版本真是多到不得了。

Glowfriends are a five piece band hailing from Kalamazoo, Michigan. Their sound is sublime orchestral pop music with acoustic leanings and sheer high quality. Fans of Nick Drake, The Sundays, Mazzy Star, Ivy, Tamas Wells, Tim Reid, Death Cab For Cutie, Asilers Set, Trembling Blue Stars, etc. will all find themsleves right at home with this album.