Welsh pariahs Islet are one of those rare outfits that are just as capable of producing the rarefied as they are the readily digestible, should they put their minds to it. And Clouds – a celestial first as a newly reconfigured three-piece – is succinctly symptomatic of this: much like BRAIDS’ début album, Native Speaker, it’s both cerebral and accessible; and sounds not too dissimilar to said record. Atop skipping cymbals and synths reminiscent of Animal Collective circa Feels, Emma Daman Thomas delivers a vibrant, pregnancy-inspired performance, singing of “try[ing] to keep it together” and, among their most cohesive pieces to date, it makes for a very involving reintroduction to one of Britain’s more innovative bands.
Islet, Clouds.
