Calika - Seedling Mother
[Audiobulb]

Simon Kealoha’s last full length Small Talk Kills Me (read our review) was a delicate, quiet affair. Seedling Mother is a development from what Small Talk... started (with a lot of output in between) and is a more varied project. Far more elements conspire to form a whole but the distinctive electric grit that scoured the surface of Small Talk... remains intact.

There’s a definite sense in many of the opening tracks that there is a gentlemanly battle going on between acoustic and electric; elements slide against each other shoulder to shoulder, jostling for space - winning out for brief interludes before sinking into the murky backdrop of delicately glitchy static, glass bottles and looped acoustics.

Seedling Mother retains the sound Calika has developed, but just misses out on reaching adulthood; well-developed tracks are sometimes let down by too much plastic crackle. This feeling of frustration seeps through to the listener on the title track, which samples a blurry shouting match - tensing up the shoulders before the acceptance of the acoustics fades in and calms the nerves.

Tracks which exclude the scoured electronics work much better: ‘2 Quarters Make Half A Smile’ (listen to the MP3) is the best of Kealoha’s work yet – flowing smoothly through its stages before sliding out into open water.

Seedling Mother is an altogether more diverse affair, with Kealoha reaching forward and spreading his arms wide to reach more and more sounds. From here on in, we expect great things.

Track Listing:

01. No Hope But Everything
02. Repeat Performance
03. Seedling Mother
04. 2 Quarters Make Half A Smile (listen to the MP3)
05. Mute
06. Every Colour
07. Two Tales Of Happiness
08. Fused