Ephemerals - Egg Tooth (2017)

Track listing:

01. ephemerals - Repeat All + (0:09)
02. ephemerals - The Beginning (4:03)
03. ephemerals - In and Out (2:46)
04. ephemerals - Back to Love (2:41)
05. ephemerals - The Omnilogue (6:25)
06. ephemerals - Coming Home (2:42)
07. ephemerals - And If We Could, Wed Say (5:31)
08. ephemerals - Get Reborn (3:03)
09. ephemerals - Cloud Hidden (3:47)
10. ephemerals - If Love Is Holding Me Back (3:58)
11. ephemerals - Astraea (3:12)
12. ephemerals - Repeat All - (0:07)

ephemerals’ star has risen steadily since they broke onto the scene a couple of years back with their critically acclaimed Hype Machine #1 debut album – nothin is easy. They’ve established themselves both at home and on the continent with the combination of a tireless tour schedule and prolific writing periods that sees them having completed album number 3 in as many years.

The new album sees them refresh their sound with a new direction. Always unafraid to push the boundaries of their craft, this release unashamedly emanates Jazz, Afrobeat and Psychedelia which galvanises the Soul and R&B that remains at the heart of the band.

ephemerals have always developed a narrative through their albums, with ‘nothin is easy’ focusing on life, ‘chasin ghosts’ dealing with death and ‘egg tooth’ exploring rebirth.

Maintaining the same 7 piece line-up that recorded both previous albums and which tours as the live band, their latest effort is one that sounds like a group of musicians that knows each other inside out enabling them to complete their most musically challenging work to date. Complementing this rock solid core is the addition of a full string section and a harpist to add further musical diversity and nuance.

‘egg tooth’ sees songwriter Hillman Mondegreen and singer Wolfgang Valbrun combine beautifully, marrying direct and honest lyricism with powerful and at times pained vocal delivery. It’s an album with recurring themes of rebirth, love, world politics and philosophy in a varied and eclectic collection of songs.

Accompanying the expansive and emotive music they enlisted the multi-award winning Portuguese photographer - Tito Mouraz to provide the stunning album artwork. Mouraz’s recent photobook – ‘The House Of The Seven Women’ was one of The Guardian picks of the year for 2016 and his and eye for capturing striking visuals and tension in natural scenes was deemed the perfect fit for this collection.

Boasting previous support from BBC 6 music (Gilles Peterson, Pete Tong, Craig Charles), Radio 1 (Huw Stephens, Phil Taggart, Friction and Target) and a playlist on Radio 1 and 1Xtra as well as support from BBC Radio 2 and 4 plus playlists on Radio Nova in France and Radio 6 in Holland this is a band in their prime pushing their boundaries.