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This three track EP by Alex Fawcett, nom de plume Arboretus (something vaguely ‘tree’ going on there I assume), is released via Hawk Moon Records tomorrow, 24th October.

Being a Hampshire based sort of chap there are a number of links to other projects in that area – he is ex-Oceanus, Rob Honey also ex of Oceanus is now in Inachus, Robs bother Tom has put out some very fine stuff as Good Weather for an Airstrike (mentioned in dispatches here) and the same Tom Honey is at the heart of Hawk Moon Records it seems (also strikes me there’s a lot of band names there ending in ‘-us’ … just thought I’d say…).

Soundscape de Nostalgia (should that not be ‘de Nostalgie’?) is but three tracks long and clocks in around fifteen minutes and plays to the guitar-based ambience, shoegaze, post-rock and drone tags suggested in the information (although a bit lighter on the post-rock, shoegaze imho).

Parts one and two of Hymn for Eurasian Misery Movement  wrap around the slightly less portentously titled Cloudy Sunday. The two part Hymn… contain more obvious drone influence and suggest a more European  and slightly darker cousin to some of the Stag Hare stuff written about here on occasion (more to come on him, I am very late with another post in that vein) but conjure up a damper, more autumnal and wistful sentiment, quite in keeping with the artwork for the EP.

Cloudy Sunday is perhaps my preferred part of this EP, the reverb , picked guitar sitting atop the echoey loopy guitar work, brings to mind early Durutti Column work, and that can be no bad thing at all.

Cloudy Sunday – Arboretus