Ghosts come in many guises, some scarier than others. The fact that Emma Anderson from Lush's new band Sing Sing are supporting Mojave 3, which is fronted by erstwhile Slowdive members, suggests that the spirit of shoegazing is afoot once more. But take a look at Sing Sing singer (say that three times fast!) Lisa O'Neill's ill coordinated garb and you will see something more frightening. The spectre of bad '80s fashion.
Check out the ruffled sleeves. The monumentally unflattering elasticated midriff. The crimped hair. This, for those who do not immediately recognise the beast, is 1982. And it is a Very Bad Thing.
Thankfully, the music is another matter entirely. Although Sing Sing's blithe pop and supple atmospherics sound a bit like a lush, er, Lush, they are counterbalanced by a resoloutely epic sensibility. Anderson's spiralling fretwork is supplemented by fiddly space bleeps and church organ tinkerings; and O'Neill, rather impressively, has a larynx like a bolshy Beth Gibbons, only slightly besmirched by her tendency to strike cheesy cabaret poses.
The result is both aggressive and delicate. 'Western Song' makes as grand an entrance as a fully orchestrated James Bond theme, 'Far Away From Love' stops and starts teasingly, and forthcoming single (on the Cocteau Twins' Bella Union label), 'Feels Like Summer', wouldn't be out of place on a Massive Attack album.
So fear not. This is not merely a sloppy addendum to latter-day Lush, nor are we in peril of a shoegazing revival. But tassle jackets and rah-rah skirts hit the shops next week.
April Long.
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