Hour House – Chiltern [LP]

"Conceived while wandering through the iron bark forests and gold fields of country Victoria, Australia, the official debut by Melbourne's Hour House offers a musical blueprint marinated in mystery, beauty, sound, and song. Hour House is the duo of Mark Leacy and Sam Kenna, formerly of the Newcastle-based outfit Castings. Chiltern comprises individual tracks folded into two side-long suites in a unique excursion through foreign encounters, warm surrounds, and disorienting comfort. Field recordings, electronics, samples, guitars, voice, and atmospherics all contribute to form a bewitching whole. Many questions are raised: is this a soundtrack to a mental experience or an altered take on a familiar reality? Is the third section based on the sound of a basketball court? Does the fourth form a song? Where do the original Soviet science fiction soundtracks fit into all this? Is this sound or music? Simultaneously ambiguous and accessible, Chiltern is a consciousness-tickling ride unlike any other. Mastered by Jason Lescalleet at Glistening Labs. Presented in high-gloss sleeve with stunning artwork by Alice Wormald. Includes charcoal-black inner sleeve and deluxe crème insert."

Penultimate Press, 2015