Blue Divers - Blue Divers II LP

The latest LP by Blue Divers arrived in the shop last week and has swiftly become my go-to morning listen. 

This new one picks up right where the 2020 debut left off: lyrical looped guitar phrases drenched in slapback echo that evokes shimmering light off of water. This is all accompanied by synth swells, considered acoustic plucks, and deep bass that all contribute to flesh out the tracks, encompass the listener, and drive them forward without any over-the-top dramatic musical theatrics. 

Part of the charm of Blue Divers is the way that they so effortlessly seem to tie together a lot of well loved music in a manner that doesn’t seem over-wrought or contrived. In this latest I can hear echoes of the ambient guitar work of Durrutti Column or Steve Hiett, the post-rock guitar work of Mick Turner (the most criminally underrated member of the Dirty Three!), the lo-fi tune out of Boards Of Canada, the process-based looped rhythms of minimalist composers like Steve Reich, the PNW folkiness of Grouper (and other Kranky artists), the ambient folk-meets-spiritual-jazz of Jordan Ireland’s recent work (an occasional member of the live group), and more!

A late contender for one of my favourite album of 2022!

-Mitch

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