Damon And Naomi With Kurihara

★★★

A Sky Record 20 20 20. CD/DL

Two-thirds of Galaxie 500 go into the blue again with Ghost guitarist. For British listeners, it might be faintly amusing that Damon Krukowski and Naomi Yang, models of East Coast indie elegance, should be influenced by the Horlicksand-Rich-Tea comforts of the Shipping Forecast. A Sky Record is, however, all about finding escape hatches and portals wherever you can in a tightly restricted world, and the gentle tides of Sailing By does Viking and Cromarty proud. Recorded with the duo’s long-time collaborator Michio Kurihara of Japanese band Ghost, there is something quietly moving about the vintage sway of The Aftertime, wistfully thinking of “life unfolding”, or Season Without Time’s smudgy watercolour imagery and splashy cymbals evoking loss and dissipation. These songs aren’t quite the blast of fresh air needed after months of dreaming about new horizons, but as you’d expect from Damon And Naomi, they’re a beautifully curated analogue.