Kelora - Gloomerald

“Kitty Hall and Benedict Salter capture the haunting energy of overcast skies hovering perpetually above the British Isles on their debut album as Kelora. The Glaswegian duo and PC Music affiliates have been releasing their tantalising brand of “cyberfolk” since 2016, where relatively minimal acoustic compositions meet maximal pop songwriting. While earlier material toyed more heavily with digital imagery and trap adjacent rhythms, their 2023 album Gloomerald turns down a duskier, marshier road, soundtracked by arcane lullabies for moonlit nights.

As spectral voices open on ‘To Nowhere’, ziplining up and down the scales, intimate harmonies and delicate guitar emerge, conjuring images of fairy rings and dilapidated wooden bridges with percussion releasing steam. It’s in conversation with the more acoustic cuts from artists like Eartheater, but channelled through English and Celtic folk inspirations with pixelated pastoral visions colouring these tracks in what Salter calls a “neon gloom”. Lyrics come off like whispered secrets emanating from the shadowy corners of the bedroom studio, with gritty bitcrushed bells and synths decorating down to earth strums.” (M/M: wholesale: shops, contact us)