Signal:Lost has evolved out of a somewhat unexpected period of
productivity and invention in the Boa Morte world. Not only did the band build
and equip their own studio but they simultaneously recorded two very
different albums for release 6 months apart. Signal:Lost is the first of these
with The Following On set for release early in 2027; two sides of the same
coin. The process has seen the band develop into a tighter ensemble that
nevertheless relishes a newfound freedom for improvisation and innovation.
As always, the quality of the songwriting remains key; if Signal:Lost
represents a wayward distress-signal then its the bands innate melodic
compass that brings us firmly back on track.
The process has been important. The new studio provides space, both
physical and temporal, to write, experiment and create. The decision to make
something that sounds different to the previous records has been
fundamental; to rethink a bassline, to experiment with oblique chords and
rhythmic patterns, to deviate even more from the straightforward and familiar.
Then to re-engage with James Darkin (who previously produced the bands
third album Before There Was Air) as producer and engineer - in order to
move from lo-fi to hi-fi and back again by recording in a range of Irish studios,
and to combine this sound with the original demos. The results are a
collection of the best Boa Morte songs to date; songs that play with form and
structure, that gently envelop drones, muted brass, melodic interludes and
found-sounds. And the good news is that another album, equally beguiling,
comes along in 2027