- Released: 2020
- Origin: Cardiff, Wales
- Label: Fire
- Best Track: Radel 10
Surprisingly, I think this is the first Welsh album I’ve covered in this blog. I fancied something a bit hypnotic, so thought I’d give the latest from Cardiff psychedelic pop quartet Islet a listen.
On their third album Eyelet (a homophone of the band’s name), and their first full-length since 2013, I can’t decide whether the music is soothing or unsettling. It seems pleasant but with a lingering threat. Take second track ‘Good Grief’, an airy and blissful piece until the that noise comes in that sounds like a mixture of an alarm clock going off and a child banging pans with a wooden spoon.
In any case, Eyelet is a record to lose yourself in and I certainly like it. Highlights include the outdoorsy ‘Geese’, the spiky synth of ‘Sgwylfa Rock’, the compressed 8-bit rumbling of ‘Florist’ and the glacial ‘Moon’. I particularly love ‘Radel 10’, with its galloping beat and cooing vocals.
The balance is just right on this record. Calming and natural, yet never boring.
