Glasgow outfit Spinning Coin's fortunes were given an early boost with positive attention from Geographic label boss and indie luminary Stephen Pastel, who facilitated their 2017 debut, Permo, partly produced by Edwyn Collins, yet another early giant in the scene. That origin and promise is once again delivered upon with Hyacinth, a shimmering winter bloom of an album with close sonic ties to the dreamy/spiky pop of the '90s.
Songwriter Sean Armstrong is blessed with a notebook chockfull of melodies and phrases that immediately burrow into the cortex, making almost every song a nod-along classic. Armstrong and second guitarist, Jack Mellin create a blend of atmosphere and meandering lines that trace back through Real Estate to the wellspring of the Smiths. Vocally, Armstrong can be an acquired taste, with a delivery that ranges from a yelping falsetto that recalls Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's Alec Ounsworth when it's on blast, or David Bowie's higher register when better controlled.
While the lyrics are little more than slogans or stray lines of verse, they serve well to hang an amalgamation of emotions from across the usual youthful spectrum. Standout tracks about abandonment/haunting ("Ghosting"), or the opposite ("Feel You More Than the World Right Now"), carry an elemental charge that dials right into a frequency of feeling that only the best crafted pop can discover.
(Geographic / Domino)Songwriter Sean Armstrong is blessed with a notebook chockfull of melodies and phrases that immediately burrow into the cortex, making almost every song a nod-along classic. Armstrong and second guitarist, Jack Mellin create a blend of atmosphere and meandering lines that trace back through Real Estate to the wellspring of the Smiths. Vocally, Armstrong can be an acquired taste, with a delivery that ranges from a yelping falsetto that recalls Clap Your Hands Say Yeah's Alec Ounsworth when it's on blast, or David Bowie's higher register when better controlled.
While the lyrics are little more than slogans or stray lines of verse, they serve well to hang an amalgamation of emotions from across the usual youthful spectrum. Standout tracks about abandonment/haunting ("Ghosting"), or the opposite ("Feel You More Than the World Right Now"), carry an elemental charge that dials right into a frequency of feeling that only the best crafted pop can discover.