Picapica - Together & Apart (2019) Hi-Res

Meandering on love, loss, and the clarity that comes with it all is PicaPica’s shimmering debut album Together & Apart. The quartet are a magical attack on the senses. Josienne Clarke and Samantha Whates’ intoxicatingly evocative harmonies weave a tapestry of their world, into which Adam Beattie breathes colour with his intricate guitar playing, and Sonny Johns’ complex bass compositions and production style, round it off, bringing everything to life.

Given that their name is taken from the common magpie, who are synonymous with the rhyme: “one for sorrow, two for joy…" it comes as no surprise that their album should be an amalgamation of each of these things – with the lines occasionally blurring between the two. The album opens with its namesake, which is an atmospheric and hazy sound bath that does little to prepare the listener for what lies ahead. As it unfolds, we’re led on a journey that is all at once charming, emotive and soothing.

‘On The Wing’ has an essence of unwinding after a long afternoon. A warm bass line is interwoven with sparse flute notes that are littered throughout the album. There is a constant sense of comfortability within the songs, even in the paranoid minor chorus of ‘Sucker Punch’. With instrumentals and vocals that are full of quirks, it can be easy to overlook their cunning lyrics. The labyrinthine guitar solo of ‘Cast In Stone’ almost steals the spotlight from lyrics, “Am I a fool to have played along? You didn’t break me, I’ve never been strong.”

‘Teeth & Chin’ and ‘To K(no)w One’ fall into the “one for sorrow” category, with their slightly romanticised and melancholic take on the battles with your own mind and happiness. These moments of quiet are perfectly placed in order to showcase the more experimental songs that fall into “two for joy” – ‘Opposite Song’ is serpentine with dizzying vocals and a general sound of shrill, distant static, whereas ‘Village Kid’ has slick guitar fills and a funky repetitive bassline that makes you want to grab your crush by the hand and dance the evening away.

The magic of Together & Apart lies within the histrionic nature of ‘Seesaw’ which feels like three songs within one. Starting off with a hazy acoustic feel and layered vocals that get chipped away at by meticulous hi-hat skills; the marriage between bass and drums is what carries the atmosphere. As the title suggests, it swings back and forth between a garage-rock style chorus and a funky dance party progression from the hazy layered vocals.

Given that prior to the release of the singles from their debut album, PicaPica had only put out a 15-minute EP – which was back in 2017 – there weren’t too many expectations to live up to, which most likely gave them a sense of freedom. The polished nature of production and element of storytelling within Together & Apart makes this a stunning debut.