A Sunny Day In Glasgow 'Ashes Grammar (Mis Ojos Discos) Released 28/09/09

Philadelphia collective A Sunny Day In Glasgow may have set themselves high standards with 2007’s immaculate debut ‘Scribble Mural Comic Journal’, yet simply just existing ranks as something of an achievement. Indeed, many a lesser outfit would have called it a day had they been forced to cope with the traumas surrounding ASDIG’s previous twelve months, with serious injury, departing band members and fraught recording schedules threatening to halt ‘Ashes Grammar’ in its progress at regular intervals.

While their first record may have been something of a groundbreaking landmark for this kind of ethereal pop, its fair to say that since then the likes of Sian Alice Group and School Of Seven Bells have usurped them with similarly transcendental voyages into effects-laden ambience. Nevertheless despite being taken to their hearts by the shoegaze fraternity, there is something more subversive about A Sunny Day In Glasgow and ‘Ashes Grammar’ in particular that raises them above the genre’s parapet – ambition.

By fashioning a staggering twenty-two pieces of sound collages here – to simply call this music would no doubt be seen by its creators as doing them an almighty disservice – ASDIG have conceived a monolithic concoction of dreamy, dub heavy, kraut-inspired melodies and interludes subtly woven together by the vocal harmonies of long-standing member Robin Daniels and an assortment of cohorts drafted in to replace higher education bound twin sister Lauren.

Most of the time they gel together surprisingly well considering the short amount of time they’ve spent on the project, not to mention that for some - cellist-cum-pianist Annie Fredricksson being one that springs to mind – its their first excursion behind the mic stand. ‘Close Chorus’ floats along charismatically, its coda giving way to a similar haze that augments My Bloody Valentine’s ‘Soon’ on its homeward strait. Likewise ‘Nitetime Rainbows’ and ‘The White Witch’, where jangly guitars reverberate over a distorted bassline that actually feels like it was recorded in Lee Perry’s Black Ark.

Of course there is the danger that ‘Ashes Grammar’ is maybe a tad too long, and that maybe some of the nine interlude-type tracks here could either have been omitted or merged for the sake of succinctness. However, with a no holds barred approach to creating such a timeless, consummate piece as this, one should perhaps be applauding A Sunny Day In Glasgow for overcoming adversity and ignoring the word “compromise”, even though this maybe just lacks a little of the instantaneity and fluency of its predecessor.