{"product_id":"mind-music-palace","title":"@ - Mind Music Palace","description":"\u003cp\u003e'succinct set crammed full of enchanting acoustic mirages' 8\/10 LOUD AND QUIET\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e'As much as you can feel the influence of cult singer-songwriters like Vashti Bunyan or the lo-fi ethos of the Elephant 6 collective, Mind Palace Music feels like an outpouring of inspiration channelling a dazzling little universe all its own.'\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eIt’s fitting that Philadelphia guitarist Victoria Rose and Baltimore producer\/musician Stone Filipczak named their band @ (pronounced “At”) — a symbol that calls to mind the detachment of an email exchange or a Twitter mention. The folk-pop duo created their debut album Mind Palace Music almost entirely remotely from, sending each other recordings over iMessage from their respective cities throughout fall\/winter 2020. But although its creators were 100 miles away, the 11-track album gleams with a sense of closeness, tied together with @’s penchant for deeply personal and candid lyrics. Originally released in April 2021, the album is getting a reissue from Carpark on February 17, 2023.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eRose and Filipczak are just as inspired by the thoughtful delicacy of ambient pioneers like Laurie Spiegel as they are by the timeless quality of singer-songwriters like Vashti Bunyan. You can feel the influence of those ‘70s folk greats on songs like “Where’d You Put Me,” a drum-free incantation that culminates with a flute solo from Filipczak. Elsewhere, @ evoke the tender drone and foolproof melodies of Elliott Smith, Alex G, or Sparklehorse, like on the spare acoustic ditty “Friendship is Frequency” or the bittersweet “Cut From Toxic Cloth”: “While I'm waiting for my mind and face to sync\/I smile to my heart and I think\/I like you just the way you are,” Filipczak murmurs on the latter. A subtle eeriness looms in the background throughout Mind Palace Music, preventing it from feeling too outdated or hackneyed.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eWith an affinity for blending digital with analog elements, @ describe Mind Palace Music as “hyperfolk,” though the record never feels self-indulgent — hitting the sweet spot between pleasantly familiar and refreshingly innovative. “We were pretty aware of trying to make something well-crafted that would hold up,” Filipczak says. “I was stoked that I could show some of the tracks to my grandma and she would be able to dig it. It probably doesn’t sound that different from, like, Simon and Garfunkel to her.”\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003e@ test their limits further on songs like the chugging closer “My Garden,” where Rose and Filipczak’s striking arrangements build to a triumphant coda as Rose mulls over the frustrations of a relationship’s natural ebbs and flows and the “curse” of desire: “I don’t want intensity, no\/Just a way to warmth and amity,” she sings. @ know that some of the most rewarding moments in life don’t come easily, and Mind Palace Music is no exception. But sometimes, even the hard work flows out naturally: “It was truly a something from nothing type of experience,” Filipczak says. “We just shared a bunch of music until we started collaborating, and then once we started, we didn’t want to stop.”\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Carpark Records","offers":[{"title":"Limited Blue and White Marble Vinyl","offer_id":54938585268547,"sku":"RPT-35368","price":22.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true},{"title":"LP","offer_id":54938585301315,"sku":"RPT-35369","price":18.99,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0821\/1601\/8499\/files\/SRD_20261016_1759_171734_821_p_CAK167LP_020.jpg?v=1792408776","url":"https:\/\/www.recordplant.co.uk\/products\/mind-music-palace","provider":"Record Plant","version":"1.0","type":"link"}