Album Review

Laska – By Our Tongues

• 17th Nov 2014

Brighton indie label Sonic Anhedonic are slowly but surely proving that they’re one to watch for finger-on-the-pulse releases of the highest quality. We absolutely adored the Chalk record they recently released and now we’re bowled over by Laska, whose new EP By Our Tongues is out on 17th November.

Hailing from Kent to rural Wales, the trio have succeeded in injecting that sense of expansive countryside and the wonder of nature into this record – it positively swells with a sense of timeless beauty and solitude, notably on the twinkling ‘Twice Shy’ which evokes dreamy days wandering in the rain-soaked woods. Band members Amy, Stephen and Rhys clearly have a knack for recreating images and themes sonically; a masterful touch of percussive experimentation layered with the ambient recordings of slamming cupboard doors and rain beating against windows creates an organic, immersive listen. Elsewhere on the glitch-ridden ‘Y Fall’ a sparse electronica rears its head and stutters awkwardly, but beautifully, towards Thom Yorke territory.

This five track EP is a powerful introduction to a band still in their infancy – with early material this impressive we’ll certainly be keeping an eye on the trio, as they display a maturity and refreshing lack of pretension that’s more rooted in the material that made Massive Attack a household name than many of their contemporaries attempting a similar trajectory.

Keep ’em coming Sonic Anhedonic, you might just be our new favourite indie label.

– Jamie Otsa

Venue: By Our Tongues
Support Band: Sonic Anhedonic Recording Company