Label: Efficient Space – ES027 Format: Vinyl, LP, Album, Reissue, Remastered Country: Australia Released: 2022 Genre: Rock Style: Indie Rock
Hydroplane reinstate their formidable 1997 debut of sublime guitar atmospherics, fragile lyricism and droning incidentals with an overdue vinyl and digital reissue.
An offshoot of the now-féted The Cat’s Miaow, the trio formed after their drummer decamped to London, charting new territory with tape loops, manipulated samples and a borrowed Jupiter 4 in the wake of Endtroducing. Adopting a handle that Dean Wareham once considered calling Luna, Hydroplane intended to only ever release Excerpts From Forthcoming LP, a single-sided 7” sonic collage, before imploding in mystery. Their label however insisted they deliver their taunted album. From the comfort of a Brunswick flat, they continued to record soaring melodies and restrained song structures to 4-track, sculpting dramatic Radiophonic Workshop cues weighted in reverb and near-perfect dream pop lead by Kerrie Bolton’s empyrean vocals. Bored of industry expectation and largely ignored by local audiences, the reluctant performers followed the way of The Cannanes and formed meaningful overseas alliances by mail and phone, securing releases on Michigan outpost Drive-In and Broadcastlaunching pad Wurlitzer Jukebox. Championed by John Peel with twenty spins on his converted Radio One slot and even polling in the Festive Fifty of 1997, the humble three-piece still walked to their neighbourhood shops undetected.. (Mint / New)
Tracklist A1 Wurlitzer Jukebox A2 Piano Movement With Percussion A3 Song For The Meek A4 I Hear A New World A5 New Monotonic FM A6 House Warming A7 14th July B1 Reprise B2 Beloved Invader B3 Interlude B4 New Monotonic FM (Acoustic) B5 LDR B6 Send In The Clowns B7 Completed Extract From The Previous 7"
