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I’ve always been fascinated by liminal spaces, those places between borders that are neither one place nor another, not this side or that, neither here nor there. We find them everywhere, but the one that Judas Goat & The Bellwether are concerned with on this, their second single, is Purgatory itself.
Beloved hangout of Dante Alighieri, this realm where souls get a slight makeover before being allowed to enter heaven, is conjured by Sara Vian’s subdued yet artful vocals and the sonic cascades that shimmer and fall from Pete Vincent’s delicate guitar work.
If their environmentally-infused debut single, “There Is Always a Dawn” ran along with just the right amount of groove, here, they employ the perfect amount of space and restraint. This attention to pace and understatement creates room between the notes and, as one lyrical line fades out, for other atmospheres and musical textures to pool and percolate, a whole new set of sonic moods that are more than the sum of their parts, rising unbidden from within. Space has always been the musician’s friend.
Sitting somewhere between folk and indie and perhaps leaning slightly towards the gothic spectrum, “Ghosts in the Sand” sees Judas Goat & the Bellwether two for two, if you want to use a baseball analogy. Anyone hearing this opening brace of songs can only be fascinated to hear what comes next.
