The Thousands

Blast cassette releases as the epitomy of hipster bullshit all you like. One listen to Secret Birds’ latest release, Moon Clouds Infinite, will make you realise exactly why this is a tape only release. It’s driving music! Preferably for that part of the highway between Tweed Heads and Byron Bay, but any open road is fine.

For the dilettante, Secret Birds is the stage name for the revolving line-up of psych jammers centred around one Damon Black. You know the dude that never forgets his cap? Describing their music as slo-mo-psych, Damon’s latest cassette doesn’t conceptually waver greatly from the Sun Araw and High Wolf influences of his earlier works (or his wah pedal), but this time progresses more organically in a more conjoined manner. The blissed and better Secret Birds are especially apparent with the drumbeats, which now roll as much as they do loop. See what I mean about this being driving music?

New sounds also make themselves apparent with a load of electronic drone instruments that Damon probably picked up in his sometimes Tokyo homeland. There’s even some tanpura on one track. No. Not tempura.