5 Tewns Vol.21
Read Time: 3 mins
Greetings pobl, I was away last week — chilling out in the hills around Guimarães, exploring the castles and hillforts. It was pretty magical. I hope you didn’t miss me too much. I missed you. Anyway, I’m back now and ready to shout once more into the digital abyss about five bits of music I think you should listen to. This week’s journey takes us through Moment of Truth’s peak-time disco, Multicast’s acid-drenched dub, Crooked Mouth’s mantric folk, dreampop from Deary, and chugging Arabic techno from Simo Cell and Abdullah Miniawy.
Deary – Seadbird
It’s a tough ask to pick a favourite from Deary’s debut album, but I’ll take a punt. Working somewhere on the edges of dreampop and shoegaze, the music is otherworldly and, at times, unashamedly anthemic, as is the case with Seabird: guitars soaked in reverb, great drums, and beautiful, ethereal vocals. You can’t ask for more.
Crooked Mouth – Jaunas Mėnulis
Taken from Crooked Mouth’s excellent Cosmic Folklore album, released last month, this synth-washed Lithuanian folk number — which means ‘new moon’ — is chock-full of mantras and magic. It brings out the bruxo in me and is destined for my Beltane playlist. Pagans Rejoice!
Multicast – Violet Voyeur (In Dub)
Drawn from Multicast’s forthcoming Wired Spaces album — culled from a limited run of demo CDRs given away in 1995 and 1996 via the band’s Oblique Recordings imprint, now lovingly re-released as a gorgeous limited tape via Noir Age — this spaced-out, acid-inflected dub drift has been living rent-free in my head for a couple of days now. It sounds great in the day — I’m listening to it as I write this, staring out at the sun-kissed mountains in the distance — but it takes on a darker feel at night. Value for money; stick it on whenever you like!
Simo Cell & Abdullah Miniawy – The Dala Effect
This belter from Simo Cell and Abdullah Miniawy’s latest album has been doing the rounds in our house for the last week. A masterclass in atmosphere and restraint. The haunting vocals do most of the heavy lifting, with the music circulating around breathy filtered chants and slowed-down, percolator-esque techno. It’s another one for the Beltane pile!
Moment of Truth – Lovin’ You is Killin’ Me (Tom Moulton Mix)
Since hearing this megalithic disco banger on the Superovo show this week, it will not leave my head. It has everything: gorgeous vocals, Schubert-esque piano flourishes, heartbreak, and Tom Moulton’s genius sprinkled all over it. This one could raise the dead.