Braids, Eclipse (Ashley).

As Raphaelle Standell-Preston’s attentions turn from Blue Hawaii back to Braids, it should come as no surprise to discover that some of those same dolorous sentiments to have featured on she and Alex “Agor” Kerby’s recent Open Reduction Internal Fixation full-length have also bled into Eclipse (Ashley). It takes for no more than 33 seconds for her to go opening up “the nonliteral wound of a heart broken,” ostensibly broken at the hands of “an abusive lover,” although the overall attitude is audibly more forward-looking than backward-thinking. Lyrically then, there may be comparison between this and, say, Still I Miss U, but musically, Taylor Smith and Austin Tufts have – somehow – managed to up their game again: somewhere between the more poignant, oneiric moments of The War On Drugs’ Lost in the Dream and the explosive caprice and contained expression of Blaue Blume, punctuated by luxurious Rhodes segments, this is the sound of the Montréal trio operating at their “highest potential.” And it’s a truly beautiful thing to behold…

Eclipse (Ashley) is available now via Secret City Records.