Labyrinth Ear - The Orchid Room
 |
| Labyrinth Ear - The Orchid Room |
Release Date: 14th April 2014
This London duo describe their
music as Fantasia Pop which suggest an unhealthy obsession with Mickey Mouse
cartoons and fizzy drinks. However, this album starts with something altogether
less saccharine as 'Blue Apple' sounds like David Lynch having a go at the
soundtrack for Charlie & The Chocolate Factory. 'Lorna', on the other hand,
has a really pleasing 90s feel to it as vocalist Emily comes in to her own before
'Droplets of Pearl' shimmers in to view like a woozy, underwater hangover that
leaves you convinced someone slipped something in to your drink last night.
This is the very indie-est of indie pop which will appeal to huge swathes of
East Londoners and improbably dressed 20 somethings the world over - but can
you dance to it?
Good question. 'Grey Dove' starts
with a long drone that doesn't lend itself to busting a move and doesn't get a
whole lot livelier while 'Urchin' has the feel of an 80s soundtrack song that
would have covered a scene when a futuristic renegade prepares for a dawn raid
on some cyborgs (trust me on this). Lovely as 'Dawns And Dusks' is with its
frantic, trance-esque electronic melodies, it is just a 60 second interlude
before 'Burnished Bronze' rolls in to view with a bigger sound and at least the
chance to sway to the lazy rhythms. There is an off kilter, ambient feel to
'Amber' that is strangely alluring despite the odd bagpipe sound they chose for
the melody while 'Amethyst Days' is a more seductive affair, as if Goldfrapp
had been asked to perform in the chill out room of an S&M club.
The titles on this album are all
fairly elemental which is in contrast to the electronic nature of the music but
on tracks like 'Marble Eyes' you do get the feeling that much of the music may
have been inspired by the sounds of everyday life all around us. As the album
approaches the close 'Opal' arrives for around 2 minutes of slightly ambient
and definitely chilled out fun before the closing track, 'Crescent Moon', takes
us back to those 90s old school dance beats and synth noises. I have to say,
this isn't the kind of album I would rush to put on in many situations but if
you like your music electronic, slightly moody and chilled to the point of being
a bit sleepy then this might just be for you. It's not really party music
though, unless you're holding a really, really, really exclusive hipster party.
More information: https://www.facebook.com/labyrinthear?fref=ts
Live Dates:
15th April - Album Launch Party @ White Heat, London
16th April - Nation Of Shopkeepers, Leeds
18th April - 60 Million Postcards, Bournemouth
19th April - Record Store Day, Reading
21st April - Start The Bus, Bristol
26th April - L'Espace B, Paris