It is strange the way that my music discovery has changed. Years ago I went to a record store almost every week to stroll among the new releases and flip through the used CDs, hoping for a Find, something cool that I had not listened to yet. Now I mostly sit at my home computer and flip through the stream of promos (hundreds each week!), looking for something interesting.

Way back in 2019, in the heady days before the Pandemic, I came across a promo for the band somesurprises (and yes, it's one word with no caps, damn them for their strange typography), who made a sort of mellow dream pop that was spacey, wandering, and pretty. I loved their debut and listed it as my second favorite album of the year.

And then I lost touch with the band. First, well, The Pandemic happened, and shit got weird, you know? And also I think they must have changed promotional companies, and I am not on the list for their new one. I say this because at the start of May they released a new EP and it was mentioned on the "BandCamp Daily" email that floats through my promo inbox, but I never received a press release. I was excited to hear new songs, and the three digital tracks they released are fun.

But looking at their BandCamp page i discovered that there is an album I had never heard, from last year! Hoo ray! I went and listened to it online, and it is great. A natural growth of the band's sound. I ordered a copy and have been enjoying it, and if you enjoyed their debut record, you will enjoy this one as well.

Somesurprises are not doing anything radical. They make vaguely psychedelic and generally languid guitar pop. They remind me of Mean Red Spiders, Lush, Grimble Grumble, Paik, Yume Bitsu, etc. I have dozens of records of this sort of thing, and I think the hazy guitars pair well with a subdued female voice. Somesurprises scratch the itch for this sort of thing.

That said, there are a few standout tracks here. The record starts insistently with Natasha El-Sergany singing in her lilting voice over a nice drums, guitar, and organ drone. Be Reasonable she sings, exhorting you while naming the song. This bounces along with a tapping rhythm and happy guitars. It's fun and catchy.

On Snakes and Ladders the bass picks a meandering path as guitars twirl around it. It is spacey and kind of reminds me of some of the more echoing tunes Landing did early in their career. Black Field adds in cello and a nice riff that reminds me of something Spiritualized might do.

The record wraps up with the over eight minute title track, where, once unbounded by the length of a "normal" song, somesurprises head for the depths. Spacey guitars, a deep bass rumble, tapping drums, and El-Sergany's voice float by. It's really pretty, and then becomes noisy and clattering in the middle, the bass rumbling a steady beat and her voice speaking in what sounds like French. This song is hazy and smoke filled and reminds me of some of those late 1960s bands, or maybe Grimble Grumble. A nice deep psychedelic trip to relax the mind.

I continue to be impressed. Fans of psychedelic dream pop will want to track this down.