Some Lost Bliss

Matt Shaw's third album in the Tex La Homa guise follows on from his earlier work nicely, fusing a variety of familiar strands, from lo-fi bedroom experimentalism to a post-shoegaze zone, into a series of songs that are enjoyable if not pushing many boundaries per se. This isn't a criticism when he is at his best, and there's a spectacular one-two combination near the middle of the disc that practically justifies the whole album. "Obsessed with Angels" is a relative gentle amble of a song, drawing together guitar, keyboards, textures, and beats well enough, but the lead piano figure puts it all over the top, simple and sweetly involving. Immediately thereafter is Shaw's own take on vocoder disco, "Vapour Trials," with a surprisingly solid beat -- perhaps the best element that Shaw's work draws on from a clear role model, the Field Mice -- that builds from a quiet pulse into a stronger groove by the song's end, down to an excellent keyboard break as well. In ways the rest of Some Lost Bliss consists of variations on these standouts, with Shaw's various approaches touching on instrumentals that could soundtrack understated romantic dramas to classic indie pop confections. One striking number is the first, "Nowhere to Run," which might actually be the album's most atypical, with calm keyboard frills slamming up against a muffled, strange rhythm and Shaw's whispered vocals, which provides most of the hooks. When the actual beats kick in, they're stronger breaks than most run-of-the-mill indie pop types could produce -- another credit for Shaw there! If much of the rest of the album matches the cover art -- grey, moody, and beautiful -- it does so very nicely, and the whole is a good listen for contemplative days and moods. ~ Ned Raggett|