Tunng - ...And Then We Saw Land

Tunng
…And Then We Saw Land
(Thrill Jockey)
Rating: 4 of 5


The subtle art of reinvention is one that Tunng dabbles in so well. Countless other audile flavors have bled through on their three previous releases; all of which, featuring lead vocals from founding member Sam Genders. This time around, on …And Then We Saw Land, Genders’ remains dormant. Decidedly, the other bandmates collaborated in majestic display; working earnestly with what available resources they had to fruit this ambitious and panoramic record.

After the first piano and acoustic guitar strands of “Hustle”, the stated single here, Mike Lindsay and Becky Jacobs chant over a trotting drum track in charmful carefreeness. The quaint tale “It Breaks” follows; ambling along to a churning rhythm and accented by a trickling piano line played with soft attack.

‘A trick of the light, a turn of the tide’, Jacobs and Lindsay sing mellifluously on “October”—a beautifully simple pondering bookmarked for perfect addition into anyone’s autumn mixtape this year. “Sashimi” is another standout; equipped with a burbling synth part and constantly back-falling progression. The instrumentation is rich throughout—marked with banjos, melodica, exotic percussion, and electronic fiddlings. Not to mention how rewarded we are in hearing Jacobs joining the forefront on vocal duties here and there; notably on the short “These Winds” and on the ‘goodbye wave’ refrain of closer “Weekend Away”.

Each and every selection complements the next. Even the instrumental “By Dusk They Were In The City” is well-crafted; a glitchy two-chord study heightening to a guitar-solo crescendo.

Tunng succeeds in holding true to their chief ingredients of rustic folkiness and fragilely-sung storytelling, and at such a leisurely pace. This result, however, is more calculated and easy-to-digest; less characteristic of the hushed inwardness of their earlier recordings. Recalling imagery of berry pastures and lush landscapes viewed from the window seat, …And Then We Saw Land is a slideshow cyclorama of sonic multicolor—a frontrunner as this year’s Cannibal Sea.

Don't Look Down or Back - Tunng

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