Still Corners

The formation of dream-pop twosome Still Corners was a product of fate. The duo of singer Tessa Murray and multi-instrumentalist Greg Hughes was formed when the latter decided to alter his career path on a whim and follow a love interest to London, leaving his native Austin, TX behind. Some time later, after getting off at the wrong train station, Hughes would have his first encounter with Murray, whom he would enlist as the missing piece in his musical project. Strange Pleasures, the second full-length from Still Corners, appropriately captures Hughes's ethos of letting go and allowing fate to run its course. Dreamily poppy opener "The Trip," with its instantly catchy combination of electronics and acoustic guitars, evokes a feeling of getting lost in some strange nostalgia. Leadoff single "Fireflies" draws strong influences from '80s pop, as Murray's multi-layered vocals echo hauntingly over punchy synths and drum machines. Hughes describes the album's title as a reference to "the feeling of letting go and having it all wash over you." "I was just doing whatever came out," he says, "not getting in the way of the songs at all." His whimsically removed approach worked out quite well for Strange Pleasures.