Birmingham-based trio Alfresco Love Sounds have released Pigeon Synergy their first new album in over ten years on April 10th, following the release of two singles Wishful Thinking and Suit in the Attic.
In an age dominated by the digital, Pigeon Synergy could be the breath of fresh air we all need.
<aside> <img src="/icons/music-album_orange.svg" alt="/icons/music-album_orange.svg" width="40px" />
https://soundcloud.com/alfrescolovesounds/sets/album-2-2017/s-ToDK2gWNsAC?si=0361fcda1ab04a27b4ba24c88eaec434&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
</aside>
Ten years in the making, every note on Pigeon Synergy passed through air, tubes or onto tape. Each track is interwoven with field recordings from travels and daily life, which serve as anchors to a time, place or memories since passed. Full volume tracks blend into candid acoustic reflections, scrawled on the backs of receipts and recorded to tape the very same day.
The record marks a shift from the beach-indie sound of their debut into a rich, nature-infused world of ‘forest-indie’, field recordings, acoustic guitars, and four-track tape machines. Recording Pigeon Synergy was a DIY effort, and the record carries a nostalgic warmth that aims to transport the listener back to a time when their favourite VHS still wibbled and wobbled, and Kel had only just dropped the screw in the tuna.
“We always wanted to move toward a more analogue recording technique, it has a mystical quality. Tubes and tape saturation are different from digital; they are warmer and possess a unique sound. It’s about capturing that sense of the air we breathe. There is a certain mojo around the record, which we’re really proud of”
Thematically, the record reflects on the end of an era, the meaning of home and place, heartbreak, adulthood, and the weight of the decisions that define modern life. Just as spring turns to summer, Pigeon Synergy marks the start of another season, in which there is beauty to be found in life’s imperfections, tape hiss, and the birdsong alike.
Featured by Emily Pilbeam on the BBC Radio 6 Introducing Mixtape
“So impressed with that one from Alfresco Love Sounds, an indie rock trio from Birmingham. Solid track that one, came out of nowhere that band, but I am glad they made their way to me” - Emily Pilbeam, BBC Radio 6 Music
