Puma Blue - Croak Dream - COMPACT DISCS [CD]

Mark Deutrom - Value Of Decay [VINYL LP] date 04/06/2018

Limited Edition Deep Ocean Blue. Croak Dream is a document of rebirth for Puma Blue, and a full realization of the project's musical and emotional potential. The third full-length from Jacob Allen feels nocturnal and ruminative - spanning the low-slung iridescence of trip-hop, the xx's moody rhythmic pop, and the stark intimacy of artists like Benjamin Booker and mark william lewis. The proper follow-up to 2023's Holy Waters, Croak Dream arrives after a period of reset and renewal. Written in the aftermath of a difficult tour and time spent focusing on mental health, the album reflects Allen's rediscovery of joy and experimentation. Recorded straight to tape at Peter Gabriel's Real World Studios with Sam Petts-Davies (The Smile, Warpaint), the result is a living, breathing organism of sound that's both raw and beautifully intricate. Lyrically, Croak Dream explores sensuality, connection, and - from the toxic aftermath of the title track to the foggy IDM of InchMister LostInch and the spectral ache of InchSilently.Inch It's Puma Blue in his most intimate and unguarded form bold, liberated, and fully alive.

Written in the winter of 2024, antichamber marks a sonic shift for Puma Blue with Allen writing away from the full band setup focusing on obscure electronic textures and acoustic instrumentation. Whereas Puma Blue's previous material has honed in on the centre point between trip-hop, Jazz and electronica, antichamber showcases a different angle to Allen's songwriting demonstrating something more stripped-back and vulnerable. Antichamber follows Puma Blue's 2023 , Holy Waters - an album that achieved widespread acclaim from NPR All Songs Considered, The FADER, Paste Magazine, Office Magazine, Document Journal and more - and 2021's In Praise of Shadows. The Holy Waters tour found Allen growing internationally, selling out venues in Tokyo, Mexico City and beyond, earning himself fans such as Thom Yorke along the way.