Cloth - Low Sun (2022) Hi Res

A few years ago, Cloth seemed to emerge dream-like and quietly confident from nowhere. The Glasgow duo, centred around the Swinton siblings Rachel and Paul, brought a considered minimalism to rock instrumentation to weave a spidery sound recalling Glasgow pop deconstructionists The Blue Nile and even Mogwai, but with a secret gem at its glowing heart in the form of Rachel Swinton’s breathey, instantly affecting vocal performances.

Low Sun sees the group grow, unfurling from the earlier mission statement into something that sinks languidly into the Rock Action canon beautifully while teasing out new emotional resonances in their songwriting. Old Stories uses Paul Swinton’s fractal guitar, laden with shimmering overtones, to build a steadily cresting wave of nocturnal, sepia-tinted melancholy. Lead single Lucid is a showcase for Rachel Swinton’s vocal, sung low into the mic but gracing the full spectrum of the stereo-field over a Blue Nile-ish backing, like something from Hats perhaps. Title track Low Sun reminds us a little of Slowdive’s more sombre moments, glacial and pristine in its reservation. E.P. closer Sidecar uses reverberating piano chords and swelling instrumentation for one of the most abstract – and affecting – pieces of the EP.