As a big Miniatures fan, I was so happy when lead singer Annemarie Duff returned with her solo project T.G Shand. Hailing from Ōtautahi New Zealand she is creating some sublime dreampop. She’s released some stellar singles over the last few years. I’m particularly fond of ‘Little Sieve’ not least because it came of a lovely lathe cut 7 inch single (still a very limited amount of those available as I type).
Today she coalesces her last two singles and folds them into the Cinnamon EP. Here’s what Duff had to say on the release.
“I tried to make these tracks an imaginative mix of shoegaze, beats and ethereal floatiness. They come with a classic twist from the 90s shoegaze scene. My shoegaze roots found influences from the likes of Curve, Chapterhouse, Medicine, and equally from modern R&B/hip-hop heroes like Pip Millet and Little Simz. Hopefully someone out there enjoys listening.”
The EP opens with ‘Notions’ a synthwave, lo-fi sweetener. The atmospheric swirling of the electronica surrounding Duffs dreamy guitar chords take us away. The vocal performance is, as always, wholly engaging and I can see exactly why she picked this as her opening track.
Next up is the title track. Offsetting lyrics about baking with the off-kilter instrumentation is a killer move. This is a golden nugget of a pop song wrapped in a fluffy cloud of effects and punctuated beats. I can see this one sitting on many a summer playlist, and rightly so.
‘Fatwood’ is a glorious melting pot of sounds and textures. The fuzzed-out bass rattles against hip hop beats which in turn drives the heavenly guitars. Duff channels her inner Liz Frazer and delivers a vocal performance to remember. This is the sound of someone creating a world for their songs to live in. A video for ‘Fatwood’ will be launched on August 11 over on YouTube, funded by NZonAir, with art direction by Thomas Russell it’s a cool mix of performance and dreamy landscapes.
Her single from earlier in the year follows. ‘WAOW’ (standing for We Are Way Off) it’s another beautiful bit of world building. Duff displays such a light touch yet at the same time it’s such a dynamic track coming in and out. It really holds your interest start to finish!
The EP closes out with ‘Streets’. A chilled number that blends conga drums over an electronic pulse to provide the backing to this delicate song. I can’t help but think of a meadow at dawn, dew hanging on every blade of grass glistening in the early morning sun. As with all her tracks Duffs vocal is the beating heart of it all, this time more malleable and somehow just out of reach.
With the Cinnamon EP Duff has stepped her game up another notch and delivered on each and every track. With able assistance from drummer Cory Champion and the engineering and mastering skills of Bevan Smith, these songs truly do demonstrate why T.G. Shand is one to watch.
The Cinnamon EP is available on all digital platforms and as a 10” mono lathe-cut vinyl via Bandcamp and selected record stores very soon indeed.
You can follow T.G. Shand on social media here….
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