Tall Ships - Impressions (2017)

Tracklist

01. Road Not Taken
02. Will To Life
03. Petrichor
04. Home
05. Lucille
06. Meditations On Loss
07. Sea Of Blood
08. Lost & Found
09. Day By Day
10. Impressions
11. Purge


Tall Ships have never seemed like a band to rush things. For all its moments of arse-kicking euphoria, their debut album Everything Touching felt for the most part like something which was subtly crafted rather than borne of pure sweat and entrails. It’s not entirely surprising, then, that it’s taken four-and-a-half years for its follow-up Impressions to emerge. Taking their time isn’t quite the full story, though: parting company with your label and management and subsequently having to resume a DIY approach for recording would slow the most slapdash of bands down, let alone the likes of Tall Ships.

It’ll be gratifying for fans of the first record to note that the absence of the support network hasn’t been to the detriment of the band’s work. In fact, there’s a strong argument to suggest that Impressions is even better than its impressive forebear. One of the things which has always set Tall Ships apart is the lavishness and variety of their arrangements. There’s a touch of Mogwai in the way they can phase between spacious soundscapes and dense riffing, but there’s also a moreish urgency to a lot of their songs - ‘Will to Life’, in particular is thoroughly infectious.

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