Mayurqa
Monch, 2021
9/10
Formerly of The Bazaars and Tomartyrs, this debut solo album from Jonny Woolnough offers a dozen sweeping and well thought out songs that are often rich with ambience and put a very literate slant on the singer-songwriter genre.
Woolnough starts the listen with the rugged, acoustic guitar rock of “The Soul Of The Runner”, where grit and beauty meet with some folk influences, and “2666 (Love Is On It’s Way)” follows with a punchy spirit of soaring melodies and pretty singing that’s not short on atmosphere, too.
Elsewhere, “Ave, Ave” offers a bare, intimate track where Woolnough’s stirring pipes are quite warm, while “You’ve Got That Look” displays a breezy strummer that wouldn’t be out of place on a mixtape alongside The Lemonheads. “A Fish Upon A Line” then brings strings into the equation, as darker textures enter a rawness that’s so well executed it alone is worth the price of admission.
Approaching the end, “Forever” recruits soulful backing vocals into the surreal climate that you can’t help but admire, and “The Earth From Above” exits the listen with a charming, airy finish of absorbing dream-gaze nods.
Certainly able to be compared to modern day indie-rock, but also touching on the early days of alt-rock and even psyche-rock, Woolnough carves out a unique spot to reside, as each track here warrants and benefits from repeated listens.
Travels well with: Adna- Black Water; Astrid Swan- D/Other