Monday & Guitars At The Ready: Great Outdoors - Maths And The Moon

Great Outdoors - Dad's Oasis.

Background promo - Guitars have been with us for so long now, it's hard to feel refreshed by them, but it still happens from time to time. With the warmth of a technicolour cartoon comes 'Dad's Oasis', the debut release from Great Outdoors. Amidst working on releases with Totally Mild, Full Ugly, Lehmann B Smith and Free Time, productive overachiever Zachary Schneider has used up his spare time to slowly chip away at a solo LP. Since the bands conception in 2011 the group have remained incredibly selfish, with no releases.

Dad's Oasis was recorded by engineer/house mate Rhys Corr then mixed at Phaedra Studio's with the masterful John Lee (Lost Animal, Pikelet), the album pokes its head and shoulders above the tarpit of guitar-pop emanating from Melbourne, Australia. Rich refreshing textures swell in your speakers with a mercurial nature. These sounds all brought forth by the width and movement of Lehmann Smith's bass, the skewed and warped sound of Schneider's guitars and the lyrical drumming of Johathan Mendelovits. Almost bordering on chamber pop, we hear from old friends like Bass Clarinet, Saxophone and Marimba. However, we're left with enough space to absorb everything in our own time, as the group do away with Phil Spector's wall of sound.

Lyrically, we hear the perspective of a person ducking and weaving their way through relationships in this post-internet generation of 20-somethings ready to call out anything and everything. Themes of betrayal and relationships based on depression and abuse are the perfect juxtaposition to this sunny, bright and uplifting record. Maybe it's because that's how it feels to be in one. We are left with an overall feeling of buoyancy, the album being a real time gestation of a relationship and its release being the break up.  

'Dad's Oasis' is the title track and one of nine thoughtfully developed songs on the album. It's a collection of indie pop and rock music, laden with melodic songs, intriguing lyrics, and exceptional production. Every song has character, there are no passengers on this album, and the featured track is a worthy introduction.


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Maths And The Moon - Futurist.

Background promo - Maths And The Moon are back with their second full-length album 'Familiar Strange'.  Lost in the forest with nothing but shadows, memories and strangely familiar characters, Maths And The Moon present the listener with a collection of thrilling new songs. Brand new tracks 'Magic' and 'Boomerang' sit in full-tilt alt-rock territory alongside recent single 'Futurist' (09.03.16), whilst 'Amongst Trees' and 'Psych-Seeing' weave the listener down a more obscure path into the woods.

The band generate a direct and focussed noise throughout the album, whilst keeping it fuzzy at every opportunity. Catch them live at selected UK shows this Summer "Familiar strangely comes to greet me, I shake his hand but he’s a hologram" 'Boomerang'

Recorded and produced by the band in their Southampton studio, the album will be available directly from their bandcamp page (Here) and across all major digital stores. Maths And The Moon are Andy Fielder (guitar/vocals), Luke Taplin (drums) and Matt Hirst (bass), and formed 2010.

The album 'Familiar Strange' comprises of nine enticing songs, that will appeal to those who enjoy the flavours of Alt Rock music, and quite probably to many more people as well. The band mix up the styles, there's some slow builders, full on rock pieces and even some softer material. Featured song and opening track on the album 'Futurist' gives an idea of what's in store, in what is a pretty cool album.

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