Wunderkammer is an enveloping art-pop album from Pocket Lint, the London-based solo project of Mark Heffernan. An immersive blend of synths, guitars, vintage drum machines, and found sounds coexists with the album’s concept; the Wunderkammer, or cabinet of curiosities, serves as a conceptual journey into the mind where the opening and closing tracks frame a reflective exploration. Each song in between acts as a distinct exhibit based on a unique, fictional object complete with its own rich backstory.
“From an Ancient Land” is a grippingly atmospheric opener, propelled by soaring guitar twangs and unveiling vocal mystique. Narrations of a “traveler, from an ancient land” who tempts “I can show you things, of which you’ve never dreamt” consume alongside the haunting synth layers and moody guitars, then guiding into the effervescent shimmering of “Amethyst Cameo.” “She is every waking thought,” a brisker vocal drive ensues, assuming a spoken-word catchiness with shades of Pet Shop Boys. Right away, the album struts a dynamic flair, between both atmospheric slow-burns and infectious synth-pop immediacy.
“Cyanometer” is another standout, which caught our ears back in April with its fantastic production — pairing spacey synths, buzzy bass, and melodic guitars amidst lyrical perspectives measuring the “Cyanometer,” a main part of the imagined Wunderkammer. Elsewhere, “Butterfly Collection” stirs with an elegant disposition, melding vibrant piano alongside bird-chirping and a lovely outdoor ambience; its caressing, playful production crafts an approachably charming midpoint. Later, “Fernery” moves back into the absorbing art-pop territory, consuming especially in the “darkness and light” multi-vocal haunts and ensuing “are we lost?” questioning. Wunderkammer is a dynamic success, compelling across both heady soundscapes and hooky pop ingenuity.
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“Cyanometer” and other tracks featured this month can be streamed on the updating Obscure Sound’s ‘Emerging Singles’ Spotify playlist.
We discovered this release via MusoSoup.
