The Green Child - Shimmering Basset (2020)

After the release of their self-titled debut album, the Green Child's Raven Mahon and Mikey Young took some time to regroup literally. Mahon moved from San Francisco to join Young in Australia, where they settled in a beachside house south of Melbourne. Recorded in their basement studio, Shimmering Basset immediately makes it clear just how beneficial being in the same place is for their music. While The Green Child's misty, sometimes meandering atmospheres were a sizable part of its appeal, the way Young and Mahon's second album lifts the fog offers plenty of pleasures. Shimmering Basset's first few songs show just how much the Green Child's music has grown: The deceptively bouncy philosophical musings of "Fashion Light" showcase their way with tighter but still evocative songwriting; "Low Desk: High Shelf"'s guitar solo seems beamed in from '70s glam rock; and the stomping "Tony Bandana" is far more assertive than could have been imagined based on the duo's debut. Putting down roots allowed Mahon and Young to branch out musically, and while the breadth and depth of their influences is impressive, the way they use them on Shimmering Basset is even more so. On "The Installation," slinky electric piano and saxophone add a sinuous hint of R&B that feels organic to the Green Child's approach, while the baroque electro-pop cover of Andy Kim's "Resurrection" shows once again how adept they are at making others' songs their own. While Young and Mahon never borrow too overtly, there are connections to Brian Eno-ish pop within the blobby synths and hypnotic vibe of "Smart Clothes" and to the work of Bachelorette and Cate Le Bon on "Dreamcom" and "Witness," both of which share those artists' flair for creating catchy songs with an underlying tension that makes them all the more interesting. Best of all, the duo's mastery at setting a mood shines on the transcendent closing track "Double Lines." Trading the blurry cohesion of their debut for the freewheeling, surprising songs of Shimmering Basset is a move that pays off along with opening new musical dimensions for the Green Child, it's a lot of fun.