Welcome back to another edition of the Postbox. Back in the first piece of mail I sent you all those weeks ago, I promised that I was going to avoid having these postcards be like an internet recipe i.e. having endless amounts of inane text before getting to the content you’re actually here for. In classic Chris Dean fashion, I’ve then spent the next four postcards entirely ignoring that promise. So this week, we’re going real quick and simple. It’s beach time, baby!
Why the beach? Firstly, my good pals Luke and Amy recently went on what looked like a very lovely holiday around South East Asia, and during their travels requested a beach playlist; I unfortunately already had a few weeks worth of postcards planned out, but I promised I would cook them up a mix eventually. Secondly, this weekend I got to fulfil my lifelong dream (as of last week) of visiting the world famous Crab Museum in the slightly less exotic beach locale of Margate (which also happen to be another one of Luke’s favourite haunts), which provided me with some extra inspiration to round off the playlist you’ll find below. This is also where I found the image for this week’s postcard, a beautiful sculpture of transformed found materials by the artist Louise Nevelson which is currently on display at the Turner Contemporary.
Your postcard this week should provide the soundtrack to a few different moods that you might experience as you while away the hours in the sun. Starting off with a bit more of a party atmosphere is a fantastic track from Penza Penza, a band I recently found thanks to Aquarium Drunkard. Hailing from Tallin, Estonia, this collective of indeterminate number (I really appreciate how each successive album cover seems to feature more of them) play sun-soaked and groove-laden psych-funk that’s impossible not to bob along to. Their recent record Electricolorized is great from start to finish, bristling with energy and packing in the jams across its short 30 minute runtime. It also has some incredible track titles: how can you not love a band with a song called ‘The World of High Voltage Badgers’? In a more chill, mid afternoon haze kinda vibe comes a track from old Isle of Wight favourites, The Bees. If you’ve missed out on this gem of a band up until now, don’t fret; you’re just in time to get to grips with their record Sunshine Hit Me, also known as the perfect summer album, before the warmer months are upon us. ‘This Town’ is a great encapsulation of their softer side, and always reminds me of snoozing in the sun down at the surfing beach in Shoreham a few summers ago, beer warming in hand and sunburn slowly growing in intensity. Finally, for when the sun is setting and a contemplative air is riding the breeze comes a track from the electronic duo Lyndhurst. These guys were a recent discovery of mine thanks to the weekly new releases roundup on the ever fantastic DrownedinSound forums, and I’ve been obsessed by their two EPs, Platforms and Caves, ever since. Describing their music on bandcamp as “Sunken rhythms and smashed fanfares”, to me they feel like a more beat-driven or postrock influenced Boards of Canada, creating a melancholy and dramatic musical landscape through chopped electronics, field recordings and occasional pulses of woodwind. The track I’ve included here, “Holiday Inn”, has a wonderful woozy element to it, with washes of synth that swirl and ebb like a gently lapping tide.
As always you can find the Tidal version of the playlist here, or the spotify playlist below. Hopefully I lived up to my promise and that wasn’t too arduous of a read! I’m looking forward to sending you some more post next week, but until then…
Postcard 05: 19/02/2024
Bruno Pernadas - Problem Number 6
Penza Penza - Deep Dive
Revival Season - Iron Warrior
John Wizards - Lusaka By Night
Panda Bear & Sonic Boom - Livin’ In The After
U-Roy & Alton Ellis - Ain’t That Loving You
The Bees - This Town
Lyndhurst - Holiday Inn
Nujabes - Kumoni
Lemon Jelly - Come