After what feels like an eternity of John Cudlip’s association with New Yorks’, Ghostly International label, he has finally moved away from the plethora of demos he has released with them under his Launder moniker and gone head long into this hour long, 13 track, double album debut. Brave move? Perhaps?…However it’s a stance that feels like it augments the frequent, glorious bombast of Happening.

At it’s most grandiose Unwound, Blue Collar and the simply epic Rust, dart lo-fi jangled riffs through unassuming vocals and fuzz laden melodies / reverb. These are ultimately embattled into regular submission by startling crunchy riffs that threaten to dominate the sound. It is a conflict between sweet and gnarled that works with stunning effect and a stunning bastardisation of the soft/loud dynamic.

This ‘grandiose’ changes to an increasingly dream-gaze aesthetic on the other primary nuance of the album. This is best represented in On A Wire and Withdraw. Here isolated, almost Stone Roses / Sally Cinnamon style distanct production, engulfs beautifully subtle gaze and dreamy jangled riffs. Both tracks eventually move towards a more frenetic wall of sound conclusion, but it is more the Post-punk modernity of DIIV or RGV, rather than the deranged dynamism of My Bloody Valentine.

Epic, cinematic, wall of sound, double LP’s etc, are usually musical commodities that acts eventually move towards on subsequent releases rather than a debut. However, Cudlip pulls this off with total aplomb an without a hint of bluster.

Grab your copy here.

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