30 Sept 2012

Maston - Voyages Review


Bandcamp Download

Every now and then I stumble on something really special on Bandcamp, and Maston's "Voyages" may be the most intriguing accidental discovery I've found yet.
A ( seeming ) one-man band project incorporating everything from vintage psychedelic pop to exotica, sixties space pop and Ennio Morricone style soundscapes, Frank Maston offers a uniquely cinematic take on psychedelia that should appeal to fans of Pepe Deluxe, Broadcast and Spindrift without really sounding a jot like any of them.
Split 50/50 between vocal and instrumental tracks, there's a woozy undercurrent of carnivale present that gives this a nostalgic and melancholy air, especially on "The Companion", which comes on like the aural equivalent of a David Lynch dream sequence.
Vocals, when present, are often swathed in layers of reverb giving them a nice textural quality on tracks like "Judge Alabaster", and best of all, "Engrams" a top drawer piece of psychedelic dream pop that reaffirms everything that Maston has proven that he does so well over the preceding twenty minutes - immaculate production, inventive arrangements and melodies so naggingly familiar and catchy that they feel like old friends.

Available through the bandcamp link below as a name your price download :

1 comment:

  1. I've only just discovered Maston, and this EP is now only available in incomplete form on the Opal Collection. If you could hook me up with this, I'd be eternally grateful!!

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