TRACK: Pictish Trail – ‘Dream Wall’: hushed loveliness from the dream state

JOHNNY LYNCH who, besides running the dependably excellent Lost Map Records (which, being based, for most of us, up there on the Hebridean island of Eigg, isn’t lost from the map but rather merely quite close to the edge of it) fashions hushed musical atmospheres wearing his Pictish Trail hat, has got a new EP out come April Fool’s Day; and he’s leading the procession with the title track, “Dream Wall”, which we’ve been allowed to embed for you. It’a down there.

It’s a standalone single which he laid down during the sessions for his most recent album, Thumb World, and thus the EP itself acts as a lovely sonic postscript to that. And lovely is the watchword: self-referential in terms of its lyrical concerns, even meta-, it sees Johnny hushing us with a lullaby of a song about the writing of songs, soft guitar and bells playing in the next room; “I think I maybe write songs way too late at night / I stay awake as late as possible,” he laments, waiting for that witching hour inspiration to strike.

The EP, which also features remixes of tracks from Callum Easter, Kinbote, Bamboo and Good Dog, is out digitally on Fire Records on April 1st; but aha! if you’re a subscriber to Lost Map’s PostMap Club, it can be yours this very day. A Good Thing.

“We dusted off the Farfisa organ, which provides the warm, gently oscillating bassline for this woozy, psychedelic ballad,” says Johnny.

“Channeling my love for Yo La Tengo, ‘Dream Wall’ is about the frustration of working on something at night, only for it to crumble away as soon as you begin to enjoy it.”

With the ‘rona still looming, Johnny has also taken the sensible step of rescheduling what was to be his soon-coming spring tour into next year. Support will still come from Savage Mansion, and the new dates are as follows:

Tuesday, March 22nd, 2022, Birmingham, Hare & Hounds 2;

Wednesday, March 23rd, Guildford, The Boileroom;

Thursday, March 24th, Cardiff, Clwb Ifor Bach;

Friday, March 25th, Bristol, Louisiana;

Saturday, March 26th, London, OMEARA;

Sunday, March 27th, Brighton, The Hope & Ruin;

Tuesday, March 29th, Nottingham, Bodega;

Wednesday, March 30th, Hebden Bridge, Trades Club;

Thursday, March 31st, Newcastle, The Cluny;

Friday, April 1st, Manchester, Gullivers;

Sunday, April 3rd, Leeds, Brudenell Social Club – date to be confirmed;

Thursday, April 7th, Edinburgh, Summerhall – venue changed, original tickets still valid;