In Priest Lake Circa “88, the third and final re-release of Slow Dancing Society’ early catalogue, Drew Sullivan focuses his sights firmly on warmth and restraint, moving past long organ drones and reflective guitars we’ve seen him employ (to great effect) in the past. If his previous release was winter, then this would definitely be late summer into autumn: warm, open sunshine, easy reflective moments, and gorgeous long sunsets.
“Forever Young’ takes flight like a rocket, shooting higher and higher with gaining intensity, before suddenly cutting and floating steadily back to earth. “Glimmer and Gleam’ does indeed do what the title implies, sparkling like the reflection of the sun off a lake. Gently hushed echoes of children laughing gives the piece a carefree vibe of youth and happy memory, like faded polaroids of a family picnic years gone by. “This Lilac Life’ has chorus driven guitar all over it, tripping further down memory lane. “Sun Spots’ slowly takes flight over hazy distortion, steadily glistening guitars sparkle over a simple repeating bassline, fading long into the distance. “The Red Summer Sun’ takes its time to figure out what it’s going to do, coming to life slowly like the sun through early morning haze. Reflective swells of guitar cover much of the space, as crackles of distant thunder slowly join in as the sun moves behind the clouds. “Pastel Dusk’ shimmers like the seaside, which is where we end up as seagulls and the soft crash of waves make hazy mentions. Closing with “The Iridescence of Innocence’ in a typical retrospective manner, the utilisation of chorus soaked guitar and reverb heavy drums is now becoming a little too familiar.
This proves to be quite a transitional third release. Shifting further away from the ambient gauze of his first two releases, Sullivan is beginning to step firmly into “80s throwback territory, which could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on where you’re sitting. Still, another strong release from Hidden Shoal, who seem deadset on continuing their run of exceptional editions.
