LUMP - LUMP
LUMP is the collaborative project between Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay of Tunng, borne of a fortuitous meeting a couple of years ago where they discovered they were mutual admirers of each other's work.
The record opens with Late to the Flight ("Don't wear your smiley face t-shirt tonight"). Sparse and with deeply haunting vocals, the closing line is "Paint dots on your wrists to see me in your dream", a lucid dreaming reference which perfectly sets the mood for all that follows. A highly atmospheric soundscape runs through the whole album.
The songs are quite varied, moving from sparse arrangements to fuller electronic realms, but it feels whole, like an out of body experience without anything jarring. At times it almost feels like one epic soundtrack rather than a collection of songs, indeed they do all blend and melt into each other. Curse of the Contemporary is outstanding and Marling's vocals over the bassline is glorious, bringing to mind Kate Bush. Her voice is notably so pure and clear, seeming to float like fine silk on a breeze until it anchors itself into this haunting music and just lets that breeze take over, going with the flow of the elements.
Shake Your Shelter is another highlight with vivid, melancholic lyrics - "To be born a crab, naked and sad, you can't go back ... shell feels like a cell" - while the final "track" is a clever touch, actually Marling reading the album credits over droning, musical accompaniment that concludes further adds to unusual, cinematic experience.
There's a harmony between the musical talents at work here which has created a most beautiful album that is oneiric, surreal, unusual, and highly creative. The composers state that LUMP passed through them and that LUMP is now the artist. It's a beautiful, atmospheric record to totally submerge yourself in. Let it help you guide your dreams.
