Teamforest - Leave Again

Wowsers. There's both Hood brothers on here, each taking a remix toward the latter half of the CD. If you've not heard Teamforest before, he makes homely, approachable indie pop with tender folk sensibilities and cute electronic flourishes. The tracks here are out-takes from his last album on Eglantine plus three excellent re-jigs that I want to tell you about in more detail. 'Leave this town (on bicycle)' is given a dusting off by Richard Adams, of recent years leader of Leeds own The Declining Winter. Taking an acoustic pastoral downer of a tune, he underlays melancholic minor chords and reflective chiming notes with a looped scree that sounds like a car alarm wrapped in a gag of rags thrown in a ditch. It adds a desperate unnerving edge to a rather downbeat song and works brilliantly. The most compulsive and enjoyable remix for me sounds like it could well have been remixed by the Adams brothers but funnily enough isn't!! Beginning with a catchy ricocheting beat, banks of forlorn shimmering/chiming guitars, a gorgeous ascending/descending bass melody and yearning echo-laden vocals it is the work of Simpatico who layers this track so beautifully with a hazy, spectral atmosphere that is quite profound. Worth the price of the CD alone this one! The other Adams, Chris this time, contributes a strange Dabrye/Prefuse/Board of Canada style old-skool version of 'Leave the North, head Southwards' that sounds weirdly like deconstructed hip-hop with a bit of Parisian cafe twist and a glitch-soul vocal loop. He even throws in some woozy synth bits for the ultimate evocative trip. All these mixes are incredibly strong and improve on repeated listen, heartily recommended!!