Beatowls - Marma
Do not be put off by the band name.
Accidentally topical (with their fellow Liverpudlians atop the singles chart once more), the moniker should be viewed not as puntastic, rather as the group presenting themselves as creatures of the night. Viewed through that prism it fits perfectly; these are songs of the witching hour.
Formed in Liverpool’s Baltic Triangle, Beatowls (vocalists Darcie Chazen and Tom Roberts, with Carl Cook on music/production duties) shroud themselves in mystery but set out to, ‘explore a delicate balance between longing and pain, the transient nature of time’: ‘It delves into the interplay of light and dark. Of nature and the city.’ If the point wasn’t clear, these are serious – and meticulously crafted – soundscapes.
The instrumental title-track’s crisp synths create a wispy, cinematic opening conveying a feeling of isolation, as many of the tracks do.