Pumarosa - The Witch

Rating:

We are in a Pumarosa world now, and my does it look phenomenal.

'Album' of 'the Week'

Music is a pretty mad thing ain’t it? The ability to create something so special and vital that it can transport listeners to new places, let them escape from the world around them and inspire their very mood on listening is quite sensational when you think about it. In the case of Pumarosa, experience is everything. Every nod, every note and every space has always meant something far greater than simple hooks and tones - this is a band whose craft has always been meticulous and stunning at every moment. Capturing that all into a defiant body of work, ‘The Witch’ is not only a perfect snapshot of a band in full flight but a rich and rewarding collection of tracks that places Pumarosa right up there on the pyramid of game-changers.

Running over an hour in length, Pumarosa’s world is laid out across ten tracks of incredible beauty. Like a collection of elements being pulled together into one remarkable whole, the results are stunning. Whether it’s the panoramic screens of ‘Honey’, ‘Snake’ and its shimmering build into layered bliss (via choral chants and electro-infused grooves), ‘Priestess’ and its Foals-esque swagger and drive or the submerging majesty of opener ‘Dragonfly’ - the sheer breadth of tastes and freedom is astonishing. It’s a record that can’t be second-guessed or predicted, with a pool of influences that would stretch right out of a record store’s door. ‘My Gruesome Loving Friend’ menaces like an early 90s alt-rock favourite, while ‘Red’ manages to merge plucky indie-rawness with an orchestral release across six minutes to spell-binding effect.

And that’s exactly what ‘The Witch’ does so well. It completely engulfs and embraces you in, deftly showcasing a band whose creativity truly knows no bounds. From start to finish it’s a record that lives and breathes in expansive and bountiful moments, introducing a band who could deliver a masterpiece for an entire generation. That’s what is so incredibly beautiful about ‘The Witch’, it not only is a remarkable record for 2017 but also pinpoints Pumarosa as a band who can keep getting better and better. When people ask about the next Radiohead, it’s easy to point to Pumarosa as a band capable of following that path - but that would do injustice to how vital and unique Pumarosa are. We are in a Pumarosa world now, and my does it look phenomenal. Jamie Muir