
Sand Snowman - The Twlight Game [Woven Wheat Whispers - 2008]Sand snowman make autumnal, rich, instrumental dense & often creepy mix of; 70’s folk/ Rock, soundtrack elements, horror dipped psychedelics with a sprinkling of electronics and other more modern elements here & there. The Twilight game managers a difficult balancing act been both highly atmospheric and sonically detailed yet at the same time very tuneful and approachable. The songs are often sang either with rich harmonic layers male and female voices or just sultry and slight eerier female vocals on there own, the lyrics littered with downbeat vibe, eerier and macabre twist and turns. Towards the end of the album the discordant/ eerier psychedelic elements that have peppered all the tracks take a really foothold creating a very tangible feeling of unfolding sanity and possible blood splattered and demented end. But just as you think it’s all going to end very downbeat and nasty – the waving and lush tones of the piano, strings of last track the lamb ushers in with the female singer singing with an almost sultry jazz feel which brought to my mind an almost 1930’s vibe - but still there still shadows flirting over it’s surface- so it's far from an happy end. I have to say I’m completely smitten with The Twilight game, I can't count the number of times it’s been played in the last few weeks- it’s haunting, memorable and layered and composed with such depth and feeling- I know it’s very early to call but I’ll be very surprised if this doesn’t turn up somewhere high in my end of year list.      Roger Batty
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