I'm a fan of the PNKSLM label. And part of the reason why is that nearly everything they sign has something that surprises me as a listener. It seemed for a spell as if the acts were making a kind of skewed pop that felt downright revolutionary, but lately the acts on the label have emerged from other stylistic quarters. Hollow Ship make music that is at once retro and contemporary. Their newest release, Future Remains, dropped a few weeks ago and it's an invigorating record.
If "Magic Mountain" sounds like some unholy collaboration between the Allman Brothers and Focus, the more straightforward "Chasing Shadows" echoes mid-period Supergrass. This is music that is, like that of that trio, clearly in debt to that of the Sixties, but it's also indie-pop that seems fairly original in its meshing of certain styles. "We Came Too Late" and "Agent" pulse and pop like Eighties King Crimson or something, while the epic "Stay Sane" is this album's equivalent to "Demons" by Super Furry Animals. The sonic similarities to Gruff Rhys and crew are really apparent on this one, the real highlight of Future Remains, but the whole album is fairly impressive. The blending of some obvious points of inspiration here is done in such a way that the whole enterprise feels fresh and new. And for all the bits that seem in debt to acid rock pioneers of the late Sixties, there are other, more modern elements at work here.
Future Remains is out now via PNKSLM.
More details on Hollow Ship via the band's official Facebook page.
[Photo: PNKSLM]