Conor & Eimer Devlin (no relation, originally Irish, but relocated from these shores some years ago) form the core of this three-piece. They’ve produced a beguiling album of sunburst guitar melodies, sitting on a foundation of drone, with a thin gauze of hazy suspense draped over it.
We’ve already spoken about the chiming single National Runner written about the Ethiopian long-distance athlete Miruts Yifter and it shares something of his relentless drive. The widescreen feel of Boats is created with banks of ringing, Byrdsian guitars, which combine for a thrilling crescendo.
The beautiful Sea Years has Eimer’s hushed, low-in the-mix vocal set against a driving bassline (reminiscient of Yo La Tengo a little bit). There’s more than a shade of shoegaze about both Sister Song and Little Good It Did You, with fuzz smears and high-fretted bass. And I love The Slow Track with its ingenious uplift of trumpet, coming in the wake of a closet bossa nova. Enigmatic but approachable as anything.
[The] Caseworker – ‘National Runner’ by Hidden Shoal
And single review if you want to add some or all of…
First things first, we like a band with brackets (parentheses, if you prefer – see what I did there). And the song is about the Ethiopian long-distance runner Miruts Yifter, which I think I’m safe in saying makes it unique in pop music. The press release describes the sound as the “Velvet Underground reared on the Flying Nun label“, which is a lovely idea and I wouldn’t argue. There is definitely a drone rock foundation but my first thought was The Byrds I must say, in terms of the dynamics of the twin chiming guitars. There’s also a beautiful shoegazey feel off the chorus, with a wash of fuzz and banks of backing vocals. Take a minute.
[The] Caseworker – ‘National Runner’ by Hidden Shoal
Nice eh? Play it again, it gets better every time I’ve found. Then out of the blue comes the news that they’re actually Irish, Conor and Eimer Devlin. New names on me but it seems they relocated to San Francisco some years ago. Ah yes, that West Coast sound.
Get the single for keeps on this link and stay tuned for their upcoming new album.
http://bit.ly/nationalrunner
Originally appeared on The Underground of Happiness
