I’m a little late to the party on this one but towards the end of last year, Canadian/Ukrainian due Ummagma released EP “LCD”, consisting of two versions of “LCD” (mixed by Dean Garcia from seminal shoegaze band Curve) and additional tracks “Lama” (one mixed by Robyn Guthrie of The Cocteau Twins) and “Back to You” (again mixed by Garcia). Ummagma is Shauna McLarnon, from Canada, and Alexander Kretov, originally from Ukraine. The band is based in Canada.
With such prestigious hands at the mix, you know what to look forward to and that is precisely what you get: gorgeous aural landscapes and soaring melodies. First track, “LCD” is a trippy, layered wash of psychedelic sound with memesmeric vocals soaring through the mix. The Garcia remix is with a car boot load of hallucinogenic substances imbibed – an eight minute ambient journey through the rabbit hole.
“Lama” brings you back to earth with a soft, floating landing – chiming, jangling guitars with McLarnon’s spine chillingly angelic vocals swimming across the surface. It is a beautiful song, full of melancholy and longing, an indie pop dream and accompanied by a fittingly beautiful video (taken from the original mix):
Final track, “Back to You” features both McLarnon and Kretov sharing vocal duties – it is has a sharper edge but retains the dream-like tone and a slavish devotion to melody. Gorgeous.
This is for me a magnificent discovery. You can listen to the EP and order below:
Ummagma are currently working on their next album, “Compass” and if you hurry you can get a special crowdfunding package if you preorder before 28 January – more details here.
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