san (三) by smallgang

Twelve songs written equally between brothers Simon and Toshi Kobayashi, and arranged as a group. Ruth previously played Bass with Simon and Toshi on guitars but Simon swapped over when she left and the band dropped all their previous material and created a new load in a spurt of creativity.

NME ““Second full-length effort ‘san’ pinballs between Pavement, Wire and The Strokes, with a roll-call of special guests including Bitch Magnet’s Jon Fine, Shonen Knife’s Ritsuko Taneda and sometime My Bloody Valentine member Jen Macro”

Popmatters 7/10 “The main discriminant between a bluff and the worthwhile is quality, and smallgang have plenty of it.”

Louder Than War 8/10 “Put it on and just lose yourself in their sound”
They may be based in London but Damnably may as well have signed a group from Mars. The record moves forward at its own pace but doesn’t stop, it’s one for the moments that you are struggling to care, for the times that life makes no sense. It’s a very modern record and as such deserves a listen."

Americana UK 7/10 “They vary the noise quotient, from extreme on the title track to just darn pretty on ‘Cards’. So there’s variety, textures, tunes, noise and pretty much what I look for when I want to get lost.”

Collective-Zine “This is a really good album”
Muzikalia ” A mirror , Dust (with female vocals ) and Cards are possibly the best and most passionate moments of an album in collaborating Ritsuko Taneda Shonen Knife and Jen Macro, My Bloody Valentine ”

Slowthrills Best Albums of June 2014
Overblown ‘Song Of The Day’ (Cards) “Like Ian Curtis Fronting An Alt Rock Band”

Tracklist

1.	Precursor	0:32

2.	Imminent Child	2:59

3.	Orbs	2:57

4.	A Mirror	3:58

5.	A Wolf or a Portal	2:07

6.	No Lotus	2:20

7.	Dust	2:58

8.	Into Night	4:09

9.	Hibernation	3:46

10.	Cards	3:52

11.	Replacements	4:56

12.	San	2:42

Credits

released January 19, 2015

Recorded at One Cat Studio by Jon Clayton and Mastered by Matthew Barnhart at Chicago Mastering Service. Guest appearances from friends Gill Sandell (Emily Baker and the Red Clay Halo), Jen Macro (Something Beginning With L, My Bloody Valentine), Ritsuko Taneda (Shonen Knife) and Jon Fine (Bitch Magnet) add subtle nuances and add a welcome dimension to the brothers’ lead baritones.

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