Tuung – ‘…AND THEN WE SAW LAND’ « New music, features, reviews, news and free mp3s

With a band boasting seven live members you by rights expect to experience something above the norm. Sadly, tonight Midlake offers nothing but the norm.

Album Review

Tunng

...And Then We Saw Land

[Full Time Hobby]

7/10

Often tied to that ever-elusive beast ‘folktronica’, Tunng’s latest offering bristles with promise. ‘…And Then We Saw Land’ follows members gap years to India and the African desert and while Michael Palin doesn’t pop up on solo tambourine, their experiences reflect through the lyrical soundscapes of ‘It Breaks’, as delicate keyboards link hands over campfire guitars on the Slow Club-esque ‘Hustle’.

Channelling Kevin Shields in Lost in Translation mode, ‘The Roadside’ is breathily elegant. Drip-feeding keyboards through sonic distortions, it creates an audio wall of mirrors bending and reflecting in the light. Despite being brother to eccentric electro pioneer Max Tundra, Becky sadly doesn’t share his penchant for the avant-garde. Even with the addition of the Arcade Fire styled ‘Mega Chorus’ of singers, ‘Weekend Away’ is decidedly pedestrian despite its euphoric bent. It marks a sorry end to a rather lovely record.

By Kate Parkin