What does it sound like?:
It is early June and I have just heard my favourite album of the year so far. Lump is a collaborative work between Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay of Tunng – a band I know by name but who I have not knowingly heard anything by. Apparently they met at a Neil Young gig and being admirers of each others work decided on this joint effort. Lindsay provides guitars, bass, loops, programming and all sorts of electronica. Laura wrote the songs and sings. The sound is absolutely delightful – Laura’s vocal range is breathtaking and quite different to her own work. How do I describe the songs on here? Firstly there only 6 and a short instrumental outtro but no song is superfluous to the overall album. There are some great loops that remind me of a slowed down Georgio Moroder for the 21st century particularly on standout track Hand Hold Hero which has a great layered vocal and some great electronica.
At times Laura’s voice recalls Melanie de Biasio and make no mistake this is a soundscape rather than a singer songwriter affair. Another standout is Curse of the Contemporary and the only slight complaint I have is the album at around 31 minutes is a tad too short and leaves the listener yearning for more which I guess is no bad thing in these days of overblown 75 minute albums.
However if you buy from Rough Trade you also get an exclusive cd with 2 non album tracks and two remixes of the songs I highlighted. All in all a fabulous release and one that will make me seek out Tunng.
What does it all *mean*?
It is nice to get an unexpected surprise in a genre that I wouldn’t ordinarily associate with Laura Marling – I like her sense of experimentation and if this is a sign of things to come than I heartily endorse it.
Goes well with…
I have listened in the car over the last two days – the song Hand Hold Hero I played maybe 10 times – it was gripped me like no other song so far this year. Sensational. I really hope there is more to come.
Release Date:
Might suit people who like…
Hard to say but maybe Beth Gibbons and Rustin Man, Massive Attack and later period Low.
Don’t be put off by the name or the cover – they don’t do the music justice.
retropath2 says
Tunng are/were great, Steve, you could do worse than seek out some early. Having said, they have some new due in August. They, I guess, almost invented folktronica, and your comparison with BG and Rustin Man is apt. Thanks for the pointer toward this: I knew it was due and had one track via youtube. It seems my street.
Baron Harkonnen says
I used to like Laura Marling, have all the LPs but have gone off her. Why? Feck knows, just have.
The thing is your comparisons with Low and BG & RM have got me interested.
Iggypop1 says
I’m a bit of a Tunng fan too, first came across them via a Word mag free disc which featured a lovely track called It Breaks from their superb ….And Then We Saw Land album ( the opening track Hustle is one of those songs that, even if you’re in the foulest of moods, just blows all the the crap away and puts a smile on your face )
RedLemon says
I like Laura Marling and Tungg, but never seem to listen to them any more. I have however been playing this a lot since it was released. It’s lovely.
I think the OP’s comparison with Rustin Man is very astute.
Contraryarticle says
Really liking this @stevet, though track 2 was really bugging me, as it was reminding me of something else. Took me ages to track down what it was. Gang Bang Suicide by Kevin Drew (or is it just me?)
It’s reminding me of The Earlies too. A band I liked an awful lot, so that’s a good thing. Ooh, that reminds me, check out Mien,a new collaboration with JM Lapham of The Earlies, Alex Maas of The Black Angels, Rishi Dhir of The Datsuns & Tom Cowan of The Horrors. Closest thing to a new Earlies record we are going to get now.
Oh, and also of similar ilk, check out Unloved, a collab with Belfast dj David Holmes & Keefus Ciancia (he did the eerie noises in the True Detective soundtrack, as well as cowriting & producing Jeff Bridges Slleping Tapes project AND helped write & produce one o’ my fave albums ever, Benji Hughes A Love Extreme) & chanteuse Jade Vincent ( who I can’t seem to find anything about, but has the most wonderful sultry voice. It came out in 2016, but a friend has just turned me on to it. Very noir 60’s feel. I’m loving it. Doing a lot of shimmying around my house to it. Mmhmm.
SteveT says
I have that Unloved album – a big fan of David Holmes. Will check out The Earlies as I am not familiar with them