Penelope Isles are based in Brighton according to their Facebook page. And I suppose the easy thing to assume would be that the sight of the sea every day inspired the band's brand of windswept, cinematic pop. The group's debut album is called Until The Tide Creeps In, and that is likely enough to further thoughts of the sea, and waves and such. The tunes on the record are expansive and -- dare I say it? -- dreamy, and the sort of thing that one would play while watching waves crash over and over again all day. The album's out now via Bella Union, and being on a label run by a former-Cocteau Twin seems somehow appropriate too.
"Chlorine" is a big slice of the sort of thing that Slowdive eventually perfected, while "Round" is a trifle punchier. On the slower numbers here, like the wonderfully-titled "Underwater Record Store", or "Through the Garden", the players approach the sort of majesty once routinely conjured up by Mazzy Star and The Sundays, while the epic "Gnarbone" nods in the direction of Spiritualized or early Ride. The players here -- Lily Wolter, Becky Redford, Jack Sowton, and Jack Wolter -- can serve up a reliably-affecting sort of indie-pop, one that has space for those more expansive and ruminative numbers, as well as fuzzy rockers like "Leipzig", one of the real highlights here on this band's debut full-length release. Whether you prefer the big, broad strokes of some of these selections, or the rockier ones, it's clear immediately that Penelope Isles are a group capable of expanding their sound for years into the future, on what will be, hopefully, a long run of fine releases like this one.
Until The Tide Creeps In is out now via Bella Union.
More details on Penelope Isles via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: Penelope Isles Facebook page, no credit]