ROBERT SCOTT - The Green House LP

Coming just on the heels of the release of The Bats new LP, Corner Coming Up (Flying Nun), earlier this year, we at Ally Records are incredibly excited to be releasing a remastered version of Robert Scott's (Electric Blood, The Clean, The Bats, The Magick Heads) stellar solo LP The Green House. Originally released by Flying Nun in 2014, but out of print on vinyl for several years and not widely available in the US, we felt it was time. Ideally, we were targeting a 10th anniversary release, but 11-12 years works just as well, and the results are worth the wait due largely to Carl Saff's skillful work on the remaster.

Seasoned veteran NZ musical journalist Graham Reid described it as "at yet another career peak in melodic songs which only rarely allude to the acoustic or rock chug of his other bands but mostly turns attention towards deftly tuneful songs" with descriptions ranging from dreamy to ethereal to timeless. We'd add haunting, beautiful, and folk-inspired at times to that range, and songs like "Lights Are Low” and "Lazy Boy" are some of his best. Tristan Dingemans (of NZ psych outfit High Dependency Unit) adds a subtle, but menacing guitar texture to balance out the comforting elements of the lead-off track "Lights Are Low," a song which establishes the mood for the rest of the record perfectly. We also agree with Reid's assessment of the closing song "Right From Wrong"-- it definitely is "as pretty a love song as you can imagine."

Adding to the subtle beauty and impact of the album are Robert's shared vocals featuring singer Holly Fullbrook (aka Tiny Ruins) on 5 of the 11 tracks. Their voices complement each other so well, and this pairing really sets The Green House apart from the work in his other bands in a unique and emotionally engaging way. We cannot be the only ones who've wondered about and hoped that they might team up again at some point. Until that happens, let's enjoy the magic of this reissue by one of the finest songwriters of his generation.