Friend to WeAreNoise Keith Mannion has been in touch again.
You remember he goes under the moniker Slow Place Like Home and is the producer of some lovely warm and fuzzy ambient electronica from the slightly unexpected location of Donegal. (Call it the Atlantic North West Corridor – Ed.)
We last heard from Keith just over a month ago with the first track from a new release, ‘Shady Jane’. Catch up on that here –
http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2012/05/slow-place-like-home-new-material/.
His previous EP Coastal hubs for chivalry also caught our ears in January in a most pleasant and insinuating way, check back here – http://wearenoise.com/index.php/2012/01/slow-place-like-home-coastal-hubs-for-chivalry-ep-self-released/.
This new track was the first material from his upcoming There go the lights again EP – we mistakenly referred to it as an album at the time, although in fact, Keith mentions that it could be long enough to qualify as one.
This release is far more direct, yet may induce repeat listens, as each track is layered (not overcrowded) with just enough tangible paths. They were originally imagined to be too ‘POP’ to bunch all together on the one slab but when thrown down in the order they are, they seem to make sense. None are a lead track. It’s up to the listener to decide. At 37 short minutes and 8 tracks, it is in danger of becoming an album but short and lively enough to keep one’s attention from beginning to end.
To which we say…
…we like tangible paths and there’s nothing wrong with POP.
You’ll be able to get the whole thing yourself from June 25th on CD or digital (I’m quite sure Plugd in Cork will have copies, along with other esteemed independent outlets). Watch these pages for more on the EP in advance of that date.
For now, you can listen to the beautiful ‘Selkie’, a buzzing bumble bee synth motif which morphs into summer chillout chimes and strings, travelling gloriously from left to right ear, with a busy harpsichord sample holding the higher ground. There’s also an intriguing two-hander between a squiggle (think muted whoopie cushion) and what sounds like someone blowing into the top of an empty bottle. The whole arrangement is handled with such a deft touch, though, that these potentially comedy elements never push the tune over the edge into farce. It’s a magic carpet ride which makes an indisputable case for pastoral electronica.
