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ULTRASOUND, "HAMESH"

Autonomy
Not to be confused with the crap soft rockpops combo whose unwantedpromotional singles are overflowing from the bargain bins ofManchester's biggest secondhand record shop, this Ultrasound feature aformer member of Stars of the Lid (Kirk Laktas) scrawling out lushviola infused slo-mo ambient terrain. 'Hamesh' is the Hebrew for fiveand this is their fifth album, but having not heard the previous ones Ican't compare and so lazily fall back on the obvious ploy of comparingthem to Labradford and Stars of the Lid, which is apparently somethingthat happens to them quite a lot. If you can imagine a marriage of themore string driven drones of The Tired Sounds of Stars of the Lid tosome of Mark Nelson's almost-whispered vocals on A Stable Reference youmight see a portion of the picture. It's hard to imagine fans of thosetwo bands being disappointed by 'Hamesh,' which is a gorgeously craftedalbum. There is a bouyant feeling of calm immersive bubble charm in thedeep textural washes, which is appropriate considering that 'Hamesh' isalso a Hebrew hand shaped charm that keeps away evil spirits.

 

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