The World’s So Cruel
Self-Releaesed, 2023
8/10
Listen to The World’s So Cruel
The London resident and multi-instrumentalist Sands (i.e. Andrew Sands), brings plenty of beats, riffs and exploration to the diverse and colorful 12 songs here.
“The Line’s Been Drawn” gets the listen off to a warm start, where cozy guitar and some spacey moments carry a hint of folk-rock through a psyche-rock filter, and “Transmission” follows with shimmering melodies that emit expressive singing and a hint of post-punk ideas.
Deeper into the listen, “Young Man” uses horns strategically amid the New Wave moments of the dreamy album highlight, while “Around The Moon” comes with a swift and dynamic cinematic delivery of intrigue.
Residing near the end, the orchestral strings of “Sing To Me My Dear” adds much grace, and “Horizon” exits with a chamber presence of very pretty and memorable songwriting.
A creative listen that uses synth with much impact, the traces of shoegaze, pop and psychedelia are capable of reminding us of Talk Talk, The Smiths or Echo and the Bunnymen, which no one is going to complain about.
Travels well with: Low-Res- Därför; Tungz- A Good Dream