A beautiful exercise in polyphony; ‘On the Return’ somehow plugs into a timeless life observation point, circular and cyclical patterns of music looping around the statued observer – “Sit and wait and plan my reaction to what hasn’t happened yet”. It seems that these entwined guitars are the twisting, weaving tumbleweeds that tie our observer, Rip Van Winkel-like into this stationary position. Back-to-front guitar stacking into surround-sound chiming, hush-hush oscillating bassline leading the music into increasing nervous-tension. Voo are a Liverpool three-piece, yet sound like a less gregarious Broken Social Scene.
This is also an exercise in understatement; singer Graham Jones shares the same shaking tenor as Clinic’s Ade Blackburn – the kind of voice that suggests rather than insists. Although Voo don’t attempt to create the horror-movie dread like Clinic, they do share their Meryside location and their distinctly un-merseybeat aesthetic.
Even if Voo are tied to the spot in a decision-making timewarp, this single is worth spending your time on – just don’t listen for too long, else you’ll be pulled down by the polyphonic ribbons too.
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8Rachel Cawley's Score