Sail & Wreck is the second Ep from York based duo Aiming who are David And Jordan who describe their sound as being Scuzzy Synthy Shoewave! With additional vocals by Moongate and Christopher Kennedy, the EP was self-produced with some assistance by Adam Cresser it was mixed by Mikey Wilson.
The EP opens with the slow Simple Minds go goth sounds of Our Voices At The Bottom Of The Ocean, only Moongate's vocals are a chill out cocoon for anyone who feels like there life is hanging by a thread in these dark days, the found sounds in the background sound like a train announcement you can barely hear over the rumbling of the tracks, that ever insistent snare drum beat means they end up sounding like The Luxemburg Signal.
First At The Accident is all pulsing synths for this description of what it's like to be first on the scene at a tragedy, the twisted metal and broken bodies, this will give the rescue efforts enough of a sense of calm, thinking through what needs to be done, from calling the emergency services to helping survivors escape the wreckage, is that an intermittent heartbeat from someone whose life might be fading away, the shimmering sounds helping you deal with the horror of it.
Shit In The 80's describes so many bands, who never recovered from the coke frenzy and shoulder pads, this has a distinctly 80's bassline, with semi choral backing vocals, while the song threatens to go full on U2 triumphalist overblown egomania, but thankfully they pull away from that precipice, preferring to remain gauzy and gorgeous like they really wish Colenso Parade had made it huge instead of U2.
The Ep closes with Sail & Wreck that has a skittery percussive edge that sounds like a barely functioning boat engine futtering across the waters, while the chilled-out vocals are hoping things never get too much and they can deal with life in a calm sensible way. Hopefully the various partners they sail away with don't end relationship wrecked on the rocks below.
Find out more at https://blackjackilluministrecords.bandcamp.com/album/sail-wreck-ep https://www.facebook.com/aiming.band
