Some releases really do land out of the blue. This is one of them. Juffage (the musical vehicle of Jeff T. Smith, born in Chicago but a major feature of the scene of his adopted home, Leeds) has pulled together a litany of local luminarias – namely Katie Harkin (Sky Larkin, Wild Beasts), Tom Evans (Vessels) and Jenna Isherwood (Invisible Cities) for this first release since 2011. It’s the kind of collaboration that’s likely to get people talking on a national scale, and rightly so – not least of all because it’s a work of quality.
What also makes this release special is that it doesn’t sound like the individual work of any of those involved. Recorded last year at a one-of show at Leeds’ Left Bank under the billing of ‘Sonic Cauldron’, the two songs here reveal a very different aspect of the Juffage musical vision. ‘Last Few True’ is a magnificently dainty post-rock / folk song, which sees Harkin take the vocal lead. Delicate, subtle and mesmerising, its simplicity is refreshing. ‘Bury’, meanwhile, is a swirling mélange of sound that begins with a vocal loop and Smith harmonizing over his own vocals before the beautiful instrumentation drifts away to another plane.
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Absolutely lovely.
Juffage Online
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