Snowbird: Moon (Bella Union)

 |   |  <1 min read

Snowbird: We Carry White Mice (rxgibbs remix)
Snowbird: Moon (Bella Union)

While there are too many insipid indie bands/artists named after soft wee animals or for inoffensive cuteness (start your list), we sidestep prejudice here.

Snowbird is former Cocteau Twin jack-of-all-instruments and astute Bella Union label boss Simon Raymonde with ethereal singer Stephanie Dosen (a Chemical Brothers, Jose Gonzalez, Massive Attack and Midlake collaborator).

Which means here's a proper pedigree: like a Birman cat, not some phone-sized mini-dog models have in handbags.

So despite Radiohead's Phil Selway and Ed O'Brien, and members of much-overlooked Midlake on board, this exists at the point the band name and album title intersect: wafting and widescreen ballads of no fixed emotional attachment, but rather lovely for all that.

With as much grip as Teflon, but insinuating itself into your emotional mood like a photo-inviting sunset (or moonrise?), this also comes with what might seem an unnecessary remix version by rxgibbs (aka Ron Gibbs, his version entitled Luna).

But he brings beat-driven energy, shimmering ambience and elevating romance to the raw material which is highly appealing.

A tip: start with the remix and when your energy flags go back to the source material.

A tastefully useful and enjoyable two-fer.

Share It

Your Comments

post a comment

More from this section   Music at Elsewhere articles index

Trentemoller: Obverse (In My Room/Southbound/digital outlets)

Trentemoller: Obverse (In My Room/Southbound/digital outlets)

Over time spent with the considerable catalogue of the Danish electronica experimenter Anders Trentemoller, you might conclude it is easier to like what he likes than what he does. By that we... > Read more

Bonjour Swing: The Flame (fragilecolours.com)

Bonjour Swing: The Flame (fragilecolours.com)

Those with a long memory may recall multi-instrumentalist Robbie Laven who impressed discerning ears back in the Seventies with the short-lived band Red Hot Peppers. Their Toujours Yours album (see... > Read more

Elsewhere at Elsewhere

GUEST MUSICIAN LUKE HURLEY shares a portrait of the artist as a young itinerant

GUEST MUSICIAN LUKE HURLEY shares a portrait of the artist as a young itinerant

Ed Note: Luke Hurley is a well-known New Zealand musician, prolific recording artist (his new album Happy Isles is reviewed here) and has been a common sight as a busker. He is everywhere, and yet... > Read more

GUEST PHOTOGRAPHER JONATHAN GANLEY introduces his book Crush: Photos from Post-Punk Auckland

GUEST PHOTOGRAPHER JONATHAN GANLEY introduces his book Crush: Photos from Post-Punk Auckland

I was in the wrong place at the right time. Auckland at the beginning of the 1980s felt remote from the eclectic music scenes of London, Manchester, or New York. Gigs by international bands were... > Read more