The
Spoonfed Hybrid project sports a number of impressive art-pop pedigrees; the group itself consists of
Ian Masters (formerly of
Pale Saints) and
Chris Trout (of
AC Temple), and their self-titled album is one of the first releases on Guernica, an offshoot of
Ivo Watts-Russell's seminal 4AD label. The record itself lives up to this lineage, and frequently overshoots it. The duo adds a minimal electronic bent to the flowery dream pop of its predecessors, cutting recklessly between unique and varied sets of instruments (including cellos, harps, tablas, marimbas and loads of electronics). The group's songwriting maintains the hazy dreaminess of 4AD-style pop, but their comparatively clear and minimal arrangement is a big step forward from a genre that occasionally fell into unnecessary density. Without taking too much baggage from that era of music,
Spoonfed Hybrid manages to turn out a collection of gorgeous songs in the same vein.