<p><span><span>- Following up from the excellent album <em>Snoopy</em>, Melbourne's <strong>CS + Kreme</strong> are about to put out two extended tracks called <em>howwouldyoufeelwithoutthatthought</em>. We are provided with the descriptor “Snoopy’s epilogue” which feels suitable, the two extended jams maintaining the improvisatory feel of <em>Snoopy</em> and their earlier work while pushing their production ever further.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>The first side, <em>April Fools' Day</em>, is a psychedelic jam of the highest order, with nuanced production and drum programming. I find that some 808/drum programming can be pretty stale. CS + Kreme is one of the exceptions to this generalisation. The sixteen-minute-long downtempo jam builds and unfurls and changes constantly throughout, moments of minimalism contrasted with more layered passages. Again, acoustic and electronic elements are brought together seamlessly and in unexpected ways, the strings sounding like throat singing to me at points.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>The second side contains the song <em>Bugged</em>. Synthetic tones churn slowly in the background while the groove makes itself prominent. I’m instantly hooked by the laid-back bass line, shuffley acoustic drums and syncopated clapsticks. Here you'll find another instrument (this time flute) that seems to be imitating a human voice. I wasn’t prepared at the four-minute-mark when a break is thrown into the mix, the groove settling in; simply flabbergasted!</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Both these tracks are complemented superbly by <strong>Judith Hamann</strong>’s cello and <strong>Dan Luscombe</strong>’s lap steel guitar playing: completely congruous with CS + Kreme’s collaborative nature. It brings to mind the recent <strong>Savant</strong> reissue by Rvng. Int'l. or <em>My Life In The Bush of Ghosts</em>: groove-based music that blends improvised and acoustic elements with samples and drum machines. Each new release explores its own sonic terrain while taking cues from lots of different styles of music, cementing CS + Kreme in my mind, even amongst esteemed co-travellers, as one of the best groups in the Australian scene.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>- Hill Folk.</span></span></p>
<iframe style="border: 0; width: 100%; height: 120px;" src="https://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/album=355009767/size=large/bgcol=ff…; seamless><a href="https://csandkreme.bandcamp.com/album/howwouldyoufeelwithoutthatthought… by CS + Kreme</a></iframe>