Air Cav - Don't Look Indoors (2011)

Air Cav can finally announce the release of their long-awaited debut album Don’t Look Indoors, on Crystalline Recordings on December 5.

The release marks the culmination of time spent in the shadows, working on something that they could irrevocably call theirs, something that bled their own character and that wasn’t a half-formed facsimile of different artists. The album will be preceded by the download-only single ‘A Call To Arms,’ also out on Crystalline on November 7.

In the ever accelerating flux of music, some bands appear like a glint in the eye of the storm only to disappear again with barely a trace left; it’s easy to assume in these instances that these acts simply couldn’t cope with the brief shed of light cast upon them with which to do something in

Air Cav, though, are different; a four-piece who emerged in 2008 with a brace of singles – ‘Alliance’, Hottest Track In The World Right Now according to Steve Lamacq, and ‘Embers/Picking At The Bones’ – and a euphoric live show, including an acclaimed slot at Manchester’s In The City Unsigned Festival. They looked at what they had and what they could potentially be heading for, and decided to wait, retract and grow anew. Why? Because for all the talk and clamour surrounding them, the band themselves weren’t ready to be rushed into the recording of an album that may have offered short term gains but fallen short in the creative standards they set themselves.

There’s no point denying Don’t Look Indoors’ influences, they fall somewhere between a myriad of intersections; the velveteen expanses of 4AD’s 80s output, the warmly psychedelic imprint that the likes of Spaceman 3 sought to pre-cursor shoegaze with, all underpinned by a pounding rhythmic motorik. Then there’s more rustic touches, tinges of violin that suggest a more than passing interest in English contemporary folk, yet combining that with rugged vocal melodies in order to concoct something more ostentatious – it’s this tapestry that led to the group finding themselves a fan in Toronto-based producer Noah Mintz (Broken Social Scene, The Dears, Stars) who mastered and provided feedback on the album

Lead-off single ‘A Call To Arms’ and its extended passages of instrumental dissonance is the perfect introduction to a band who possess a clear sonic aesthetic of string-tinged shimmering fuzz and resurgent percussion, moving freely within these parameters with a buoyant vigour that defies the methodical creation process. From being just a glint in an eye, Air Cav look set to create a storm all of their own this year.