Flashlight Seasons

Holy cow, what a gorgeous album. Acoustic guitars, plainly earnest but reserved singing, brilliant and poetic lyrical images, plus a couple of other nice touches. Indie lovers pay attention! The press sheet trumpets My Bloody Valentine and Nick Drake comparisons but Smiths and Flying Saucer Attack, and maybe some of the sensitive New Zealanders are closer to the mark than MBV, I think. Highly recommended!

1. Nice, spooky warbly organ
2. Achingly tender vocal and lyrics over two soothingly beautiful guitars
3. Delicate finger-picked acoustic guitar, difficult lyrics in pretty vocals; FCC: “fuckhead”
4. Sea-faring sounding with a forlorn harmonica and that rhythm that signals “wind flapping the sails”; appropriate given the title
5. I love the metaphors in the lyrics – depths of feeling and diving, among others; the music is again, forlornly seaside lonely but beautiful; this guy must live or spend lots of time seaside … and sure enough, he lives in Bristol
6. An instrumental featuring layered reverberating guitar lines
7. A sad song about psychic pain
8. Lyrical, though not musical, sequel to preceding; careful, there’s a false ending with about 55 seconds left
9. “The Ice Tree” is an arresting image for those who have seen that beautiful but deadly force of nature, the ice storm; the final lyric “without understanding love isn’t enough” is equally arresting in an ocean of “love and only love” lyrical dreck
10. A slightly more uptempo bit, with a pretty guitar filigree and some harmonica