The Soundcarriers

Drawing on such similar influences as Broadcast and Stereolab, to whom the Nottingham quartet are often (lazily) compared, the Soundcarriers' sound is informed by Krautrock, English folk, library music,Tropicalia, jazz, and lounge as well as the pop end of psychedelia. The Soundcarriers -- Adam Cann, Dorian Conway, Leonore Wheatley, and Paul Isherwood -- debuted with the single "I Had a Girl" in 2007 and released their first long-player, Harmonium, two years later on the Melodic label. This established the template for the band's sound: a Motorik groove underpinning a blissed-out hazy folk sheen. The vinyl issue of the album featured sleeve notes penned by the late Chris Dedrick of '60s West Coast lounge popsters, the Free Design, a clear influence on the band. Harmonium was closely followed by Celeste in 2010, and like its predecessor the album garnered enthusiastic reviews in the music press.

Entropicalia, the Soundcarriers' long-awaited third album, was issued in 2014 on Ghost Box. This had already been preceded a full year earlier by a very limited-edition, vinyl-only release of alternate mixes from the album, The Other World of the Soundcarriers. Entropicalia featured Jesse Chandler from folk-rockers Midlake on a couple of tracks, plus actor Elijah Wood narrating the unsettling 12-minute wig out "This Is Normal." The album was included in many year-end lists. ~ Matthew Garbutt, Rovi