Another new artist to FatCat (picked up from demo), and reiterating the label’s interest in band-based material, Di Lacuna are a guitar-based three-piece from Sheffield. Whilst they had been playing together for over a year, this 12” represents the band’s debut release.

Four tracks here showcase the Di Lacuna sound: a rippling, intricate weave of instruments (bass, guitars, drums) dominated by a classic, powerful dynamics.

At times recalling Spiritualized, tracks ebb and flow, slipping from hazy, picked-guitar passages to flower in surging, emotive crescendos. ‘Brand New Low’ and ‘Weevils In The Flour’ are both centred around the strong vocal presence of John Sephton and Lee Newell – marking FatCat’s first foray into vocal territory since the Funkstorung remixes of Bjork (see also the 12” from the Icelandic band Sigur Ros)

‘New Project 14’ breaks the mould slightly, cleverly introducing the use of electronics via some creaking samples and rhythmic constructions, around which picked guitars and bass circle and weave. The closing track, ‘Scandal of the Baby Farmers’ treads a path closer to the likes of Mogwai or Immense.

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