Mess Esque - Mess Esque (2021)

Mick Turner plays guitar in the instumental beauty-and-gloom band Dirty Three. Helen Franzmann records as somnambulant folk act McKisko. The two started recording together during the pandemic. The result is… gloomy, somnambulant beauty, I guess?

I’m not trying to trash it. It’s just a bit hard to describe the fragility that’s here. There are moments when it feels like a strong gust of wind might be all it would take to disrupt the track. At other times, they work up to some great laid-back indie rock that is open and vulnerable but still purposeful.

Tracks I Liked

Sweetspot - It’s right in between the quietest and most rock-oriented parts of the album, almost like it finds a… dunno. can’t think of a word for it.

Jupiter - a gorgeous, slow-motion guitar workout