The term 'hypnagogic pop' promoted by The Wire's David Keenan never really caught on. Nevertheless, it's not a bad label for grouping together mavericks such as Ariel Pink and James Ferraro who plunder the past for their kitschy brand of 'future music'.
For UK counterparts. Hauntology, coined in 2006 by Mark Fisher, is a better fit for the sounds of artists like Burial, Ghost Box Records and Broadcast.
South London's Virginia Wing operate across a similar musical terrain to their fellow Brits. This is denoted by the fact that their debut full length album is described by Fire Records as "a sonic tapestry of psychedelic majesty".
It contains the kind of swirling euphoria which is more likely to put you in mind of magic mushrooms and Wonderland than hard drugs and inner city ghettoes.
Titles like The Body Is A Clear Place, An Arabesque and In The Mirror It's Sunday will give you some idea of the looking glass world they embrace.
A further link to the White Rabbit style symbolism can be gleaned from the fact that the trio are named after the mother of Jefferson Airplane's Grace Slick.
There is no Virginia in the band's line up but there is an Alice (Merida Richards) on vocals ( + synths & organ) together with Samuel Pillay (synths, guitar, bass) and Sebastian Truskolaski on percussion.
The two bonus tracks, Donna's Gift and the instrumental Rit Rit Rit are from their earlier EP, cleverly titled Extended Play. These have a slightly more primitive feel with the analog organ prominent in the mix.
The newer tracks have a more confident, fluid quality as evidenced on Meshes the best and also, at 6 minutes, the longest track. This combines a motorik beat, mystical vocals and what gets very close to being the bass riff from Joy Division's She's Lost Control.
Go ask Alice what she is actually singing about and I doubt you'd get a straight answer. Still in terms of atmospherics it all feeds the head very nicely.
