This is the twentieth album by The Black Watch John Andrew Frederick's long running indie/ dream pop group who formed in 1987. The album was produced by Scott Campbell and the strings are arranged by Ben Eshbach.
The album starts with the rather floaty intro to Now & Then the song is super laid back and rather evocative of the mixed feelings the songs about.
The Real You has a power pop gently frazzled psychedelic edge to it, the guitars are rather intoxicating and gently work their magic. Another For C. seems to sound somewhere between Velvet Crush and The Razor Cuts with everything revolving around the bassline with some cool space age synth sounds.
Days When The Rain has a great string section that helps set this apart from the Rain Parade song it most reminds me of and they are certainly not Depending On You but sort of going for that sound The Silo's had on Cuba.
Dream Slow and you may think your hearing a Belle And Sebastian song or a similar Glaswegian chamber pop band, this is lush and will draw you deep into it's warm string led embrace.
What You Will is full of worries for what's happened and how things are going to move on among the jangling guitars. Marysummertime is listening to Pet Sounds and having arty adventures that this bucolic indie is the perfect soundtrack too.
Hyperthymesia has a very early 80's John Cale bassline that is reworked as the rest of the song is far more dreamy even as the lyrics focus in on some serious matters with the laser focused accuracy of someone with a photographic memory.
Lora, Not A Day Goes By That I Don't Wonder How You Are is a love letter to an ex, is it girlfriend, bandmate, lover or friend, well listen to find out, as you listen to the phased guitars and insistent drums.
The Album closes with A Day In Pompeii that doesn't feature my girlfriend or anyone else muttering on about it just being a bunch of ruins, ruins I tells ya, Instead they seem to be dreaming of a woman with an amphora of the finest local vino and a great sense of style to talk about all the ancient artifacts they can see and what might have been happening before those fateful events took over, even if a trip up to look into Vesuvius crater still doesn't convince them, this tune might.
Find out more at https://theblackwatch.bandcamp.com/album/here-there
