Thistle Group has been a going thing for a few years, and this eponymous EP is the first widely available document of Claire Mahoney's slowly scrambled solo endeavor. The songs are built from layered, rumbling analog tape loops that snake around multiple axes, augmented with occasional drums and voice, providing some sense of order. Each track exists as its own universe, guided by Claire's hand & recorded by the one & only (Pat) Kraus. It's as beautiful as it is primordial and as it is mysterious, but the beauty in these pieces really shines through after each encounter.
Like her work as part of the trio It Hurts, Thistle Group's zone is more in line with early industrial acts than much of anything since. Her songs clatter and throb in a reminiscent manner, but this is no homage. These dream-state pieces reflect the artist and her process, in full covert glory.
credits
released April 5, 2019
Claire Mahoney: voice, tape loops, percussion
Recorded by Kraus
Artwork by Claire Mahoney
Mastered by Sean McCann
Long-form trance-y rhythmic jams, with a fun shambling edge, sounding like a cross between music from Africa's Sahel region crossed with a Tom Waits instrumental... Jascha Narveson
Personally, this is my favorite Grouper album. The lofi sound of this record is amazing and it gives off that melancholic, ethereal, and somewhat depressive feel to it. That kind of album you listen to either when it's a cold early morning or when it's a freezing moonlit night. Love this album so much. The Laughing Stock