2021's Golden Doubt is beloved here and marked out the Melbourne Quartet as one to follow again and again. The album featured high up in our Best 100 Albums Of 2021, so there is a fair amount of excitement about the follow up.
The move to a bigger label, Merge Records, is totally deserved. All four offering vocals adds to the variety and they still do chirping up melancholic lyrics really well.but Oyster Cults sounds even more pensive. There is a depth that few manage without sounding maudlin.
The magnificent six minutes closer is mesmerising, hypnotic, yet sensual with its mood and weeping guitar. But this is just one part of what they do. Fake Flowers gets close to the intelligent Indie of the likes of The Sugarplastic.
Quivers are never going to rock your socks out, but when they stretch out and let loose a little, the results are just as outstanding. Apparition is the best example of this, wonderful slightly noisier Indie Guitar Pop par excellence with even a bit of Stones swagger instrumentally.
The title track starts all 80s Pop Rock with a vocal that is Stevie Nicks without the squawk. Grief Has Feathers even enters Paddy McAloon territory and Never Be Lonely is a great Pop song, maybe an 80s Pop song with a splendid laidback vocal.
Screensaver is so moving, instrumentally and vocally, almost Dream Pop. Oyster Cuts is an absolute gem, lyrically adept, soothing for the soul and beautifully arranged and performed. Intelligent in its aims and at ease with making the sad melodic. A band at the top of their game!
You can listen to and buy the album here. It is available on Vinyl, CD and as a download.
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