"The atmosphere not of heady dancefloor hedonism, but of the loved-up coolness in the bar downstairs."

The Wave Room
Love Medicine

(Bella Union)

The Wave Room is the nom de guerre of Hamish Mackintosh – and he has an army of collaborators, including Robin Guthrie (Cocteau Twins) and Jah Wobble. In the current musical warzone, there’s not much concentration on "songwriting" but here in the Wave Room that's exactly what is going on.

The sleeve notes describe "endless nights where half-lit rooms and smoke-filled clubs became palaces and citadels," and this is actually a very apt account of this music's atmosphere. To be precise, it's the atmosphere not of heady dancefloor hedonism, but of the loved-up coolness in the bar downstairs. Mackintosh's lyrics of love or nostalgia (One For The River/Manna) are without a trace of bitterness.

This idealistic factor is also prevalent in the feel-good keyboards sounds. Occasionally a "one world consciousness" vibe (Memory One/Houdini) comes up: Talvin Singh meets Massive Attack meets the Lightning Seeds perhaps? Oh, and the image on the record sleeve – circuitry and petals covered in snow – is impressive! –Barry Kavanagh


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