I'm glad that somebody remembers The Durutti Column. The D.C. area's Sansyou do and they remember Harold Budd and the Cocteau Twins too.
I mention those artists not to pigeonhole the guys in Sansyou -- David Nicholas on guitar, Matthew McGarraghy on guitar, percussion, and piano, and new addition Davis White of Lorelei on percussion and keyboards -- but rather to point a fan of those acts towards this one.
"Save Me Some Air", the second track on When We Become Ghosts, gently but forcefully loops forward, the guitar echoing Robin Guthrie without so many effects pedals in front of him. The light percussion creates an open atmosphere and the cut reminded me in a pleasant way of the second half of David Sylvian's Gone To Earth album.
"Black Nerve Administrator" has that Vini Reilly guitar sound up front but the keyboards and percussion open up in flourishes behind the plucked notes. It's lovely stuff.
It's worth noting that Sansyou was just David Nicholas and Matthew McGarraghy on the album and that Lorelei's formidable drummer didn't join until later.
I'm sure that these 3 musicians will work well together in a live setting. The record already illustrates a unique musical chemistry between Nicholas and McGarraghy; it takes great precision to create music that sounds this effortless.
Follow Sansyou on their Facebook page here.
Or you can follow them on their official website here.