reviews / 2010

BOXHARP - Loam Arcane

Name: BOXHARP – Loam Arcane
Item: Loam Arcane
Rating: 7
Author: Roberto Mandolini

2010 (Hidden shoal)

dream-pop

by Roberto Mandolini

The Boxharp duo craft a sui generis brand of ambient-pop, able to blend vocals reminiscent of Cocteau Twins with soundscapes built on field recordings worthy of the most romantic Rapoon. “Loam Arcane” is a four-track Ep that nicely showcases the North American duo's sonic spectrum: “FanFin” is the album's poppiest track, as if Aphex Twin had remixed a song from “Four Calendar Cafè”; “Rainbirds” is a watercolour of bucolic dream-pop; “The Postcard” sinks down like a pataphysical tale by Steve Roach; and the closing “Who Are You People (South Shoal)” highlights Boxharp's sumptuous gift for ambient description.

In an article published by The Guardian in early January, David Bowie name-checked Boxharp in his current playlist of favourites.

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04/06/2010

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This article is an English translation of the original Italian text by Roberto Mandolini, published on OndaRock.it. It was translated with the help of artificial intelligence, under the editorial responsibility of OndaRock's editor-in-chief, Claudio Fabretti.

Read the original in Italian · About the English edition