<p><span><span>- Melbourne's CS + Kreme have released their first album, <em>Snoopy</em>, on The Trilogy Tapes. The duo, consisting of <strong>Conrad Standish</strong> and <strong>Sam Karmel</strong>, have already released a few excellent EPs and <em>Snoopy</em> consolidates their distinct left-field electronic music.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>Opener, <em>Saint</em>, starts things out with a beautiful, calming introduction. Love the murky vox, drumless pulse, and what sounds like woodwind or what could equally be a synthesizer. <em>Time Is A Bozo</em> is another calming track: sub- bass more like akin to what you'd hear in trap / contemporary pop is an arrangement that just relaxes, with washes of brass and vocals. </span></span></p>
<p><span><span><em>Faun House 808</em> slithers, with a diffuse pad and a string arrangement. A heartbeat-esque thud leads you into the breakdown, before those drums come back with a vengeance. A harpsichord begins to twang, leading the song in an almost classical (or soundtrack) direction, like a<strong> Scarlatti</strong>, after-hours banger. Its beautiful outro is also worth mentioning. Similarly <em>Pussywhistle Tea</em> has a soundtrack feel: a short, drumless instrumental with croaks, bass, piano and strings. <em>Blu Flu</em> starts off sounding like an invocation (or maybe earlier <strong>Current 93</strong>). The mutterings are matched with what could be an accordion squeezing out chords before the drums come in. A nasty groove takes hold giving it the feel of instrumental hip-hop (but admittedly skewed). The bass guitar roll-l-l-s and the drums boom. The following track <em>The Whale's Tail</em> matches bass guitar and 808 drums again, but with a darkwave plod developing into something altogether more alien.</span></span></p>
<p><span><span>On Snoopy both members of <strong>HTRK</strong> and composer <strong>James Rushford</strong> are featured (although I'm unsure in what capacity). Musically it's nearly impossible to categorise CS + Creme's songwork, apart from comparing it to the genreless experimentation of <strong>Woo</strong>. It's difficult even identifying what instrument you're hearing a lot of the time - but in the best way; too many electronic acts disregard acoustic instrumentation. CS + Kreme embrace all manner of acoustic and electronic instrumentation, creating something experimental and highly melodic. Really, their whole approach to music is something you need to behold.</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=723354633/size=large/bgcol=ff…; seamless><a href="http://csandkreme.bandcamp.com/album/snoopy">Snoopy by CS + Kreme</a></iframe>