Ultimate Painting were one of those acts that I had numerous times on my SXSW schedule but managed to miss at every turn. From what I’ve heard, that was my loss as their melodic psych-pop wowed audiences throughout the fest. Since then I’ve been spinning their 2014 debut with regularity and ruing my misfortune. So I took great pleasure in hearing that their sophomore effort was coming out this summer. Green Lanes will be out 8/7/15 via the fine folks at Trouble In Mind. Check out the lead track, Break The Chain, below and if you’re hungry for more, check out their KEXP session. Here’s some info on Green Lanes via their fine PR firm.
Ultimate Painting, the duo of James Hoare (Veronica Falls) and Jack Cooper (Mazes), will release their sophomore album, Green Lanes, on August 7th via Trouble In Mind. After touring North America and Europe Jack and James quickly retreated to James’ all-analogue home studio just off Green Lanes in North London to record the follow-up, joined this time by Mazes drummer Neil Robinson.
Recorded by James on one-inch tape, Green Lanes perfects the template they created with the first LP. Each songwriter contributed five songs with various shades of collaboration in between. “The song always comes from a melody, some vague structure and then maybe a verse and chorus worth of lyrics… but everything we do, be it a guitar part or harmony, is always filtered through the other person,” says Jack.
Green Lanes is the follow-up to Ultimate Painting’s 2014 self-titled debut, also released on Trouble In Mind. Acclaimed by critics and peers, the LP felt like a breath of fresh air, with one eye on the orange haze of the late sixties and another looking optimistically to a sparse post-digital space. Refined and economic, dreamy and quietly euphoric, it’s ten songs by two songwriters at the top of their game.
Make no mistake, Green Lanes is a guitar record and it’s refreshing to hear two guitars so confused as to which one is leading, each leaving space and taking turns to rise to the surface and provide the hook. It feels like every little thing has been pored over and at the same time it seems completely on the fly, never contrived.
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Ultimate Painting is here
