The latest release from Starless is more This Mortal Coil record than super-group project. I suppose This Mortal Coil was a super-group too, but the output of that collective worked as an exploration of a mood conducted over and over again with a rotating cast of players. This new Starless record, Earthbound, features some great names, and it too maintains a similarly mournful, and thoughtful vibe.
Paul McGeechan was in Friends Again, a legendary Scottish band you've probably heard of, but the music here is far removed from that of that band. What's here, on material like "Spellbound" with vocals from Chris Thompson (The Bathers, The Chain Gang, Friends Again), is elegant and elegiac. This one is, like lots of what's here, in debt to the work of Scott Walker and The Blue Nile, a band whose singer contributed to the first Starless album. The lead single from this album, "Paper", features the haunting vocals of Emma Pollock which might lead you to compare some of this to The Delgados' material. The down-beat percussive treatments on this gem suggest something else entirely, with Pollock very well-suited to this one. For fans of her, this is a revelation, stylistically speaking.
"Glittering Light" sounds like something from a soundtrack, no surprise given the vocals of Craig Armstrong collaborator Jerry Burns on this one, while "Breakdown" uses strings and samples to anchor the sharp vocals from Steven Lindsay (The Big Dish). "Sea Shanty No. 2 (Wish You Were Here)", with Grahame Skinner (Hipsway) is lush and reminiscent of some Nick Cave material, while "Cavalry", with Thompson back on the microphone, recalls Scott Walker, Leonard Cohen, and Tindersticks. It's a wonderful track, and one of the highlights here apart from "Paper" with Emma Pollock. Overall,a mood is set here and maintained, and the entirety of Earthbound makes for a rich and enrapturing listen.
Earthbound from Starless is out on Friday via Last Night From Glasgow.
More details on Starless via the band's official Facebook page, or the official website.
[Photo: Last Night From Glasgow]