On “Radio Seance,” Puritan Themes‘ strangest and most surreal song, Emil Amos intones “They always leave me on the shelf/ I live my life all by myself” like some starry-eyed sunshine popper broadcasting from some alternate dimension; the jaunty, optimistic vocals washing up like so much driftwood on a sea of guitar feedback, insomniac field recordings, epic Pink Floyd synths and dyslexic beats. It’s like the lost masters of some would-be ’70s pop star slowly going mad on black mold, cobwebs and isolation, the earthy folksiness growing soft and haunted around the edges.
On Puritan Themes, Amos found himself inspired by late-night broadcasts of “this bizarre, ’70s AM radio station that plays these sleazy, obscure/lost hits,” as he put it in an interview…
Holy Sons – Puritan Themes (2025)
1 Comment: