SULA BASSANA – NOSTALGIA (2022) (Bandcamp)

Dave Schmidt’s music has proved enduringly popular with fans, the 500-copy colour vinyl selling out. On “nostalgia” he plays a range of instruments: guitar, bass, drums, synth, organ, mellotron and sitar on five tracks ranging from 6 to 10 minutes in length. The album consists of dreamy soundscapes with, on opener ‘Real Life’ meditative vocals lingering in the near distance, bordering on ‘shoegaze’, creating a potent atmospheric; in similar mode ‘We Will Make It’ is longer, with a whispered vocal, layered guitars and pulsing bass adorned by synths. The title track is more of a filmic ballad with poignant mellotron - I was reminded a little bit of Stereolab - very nice! ‘Wurmloch’ is the longest track and the most space rock orientated in the collection, with shades of Hawkwind’s ‘You Shouldn’t Do That’ and some freaky wah-wah guitar. The title of last track ‘Mellotraum’ is a bit of a giveaway, very much a musical reverie as the title suggests, assuaging the senses in the nicest possible way.