New material from Atlanta based recording project Orchid Mantis (Thomas Howard) is basically always a “yay” from me, as most readers well know by now. Today sees the release of , the first single from upcoming, perfectly entitled, album.
The song doesn’t add anything new to his signature sound, but is, as always, thoroughly enjoyable to whoever is into music that encompasses warbly synths, dreamy guitars and yearning vocals; sounds like melancholy snapshots of fleeting memories and vapour-trail-like destinies. Soothing and ungraspable at the same time. “Never Knows Best, like a lot of songs on this album, is inspired by a new relationship, and several life changes over the last year that brought me to a more optimistic place. This comes through in the lyrics, describing a desire to act without regrets and trust in where one’s life is headed, even if things don’t always go the way you hope
Visitations will be Orchid Mantis‘ 6th full length release since 2015. The album contains his most optimistic batch of songs to date, and was assembled quickly and obsessively without second thoughts, in a fashion Howard hadn’t pursued since the rudimentary 4-track cassette experiments of his 2014 debut Hessdalen Light.
Visitations will be out Oct. 1st on label Z Tapes.
