With the Warm Currency 10-inch, I’m pleased to find there’s a connection to Lambkin’s Kye label and a six-track EP by The Bowles which appeared in 2012. Never heard it, but Warm Currency possess a lot of the qualities I associate with Kye; enigmatic, short tunes; spoken-word and poems, lyrics half sung; nothing really explained for the listener.
Australian players Matthew Hopkins and Mary MacDougall made Returns (HORN OF PLENTY hop11) around 2020-21 working in Mary’s home. Matter of fact it’s their first record since that one by The Bowles, which also included Christopher Schueler from Vincent Over The Sink. These eight short pieces all vanish from view almost as soon as they get started; you instantly get the feeling you must have dreamt them rather than heard them. Words referring to mysterious things or private events, or symbols; MacDougall seems to be letting us glimpse inside her inner being for a moment before drawing the screen door closed again. Sonically, two things appeal; (1) minimal instrument-playing, guitar and keyboards, going beyond the point of lo-fi into some barely-there zone of exploration. A memory of a sketch of a tune that was only glimpsed for a second. (2) tape collage technique of a very primitive but effective sort, making much of the changes in timbre which can result from something so basic as bumping the mike, or turning off the machine. This adds an unaffected, home-made dimension to the record, on-the-spot documentary, honesty, and increased intimacy. There’s also a colour booklet enclosed showing ceramic tile artworks made by Mary MacDougall.
I have no idea what any of this means, but I’m convinced it’s a genuine work of art. All these Horn Of Plenty records share a very intense directness and honesty, homing in on qualities which are rare enough in real life, let alone in the area of commercially-released music. From 21 April 2022.