Akira Vinyl & CDs

Review: French-Canadians Margaux Sauve and Louis-Etienne Santais are Ghostly Kisses the internationally acclaimed pop pairing that has got a hardcore following of fans all over the globe. They impressed with their debut album Heaven not that long ago and now return with Darkroom, which focuses on the feelings we all had during the pandemic of loneliness. Both artists set up in separate rooms during the writing process and sent snippets to each other to only finalise when they eventually met up which they think ensured they brought "more depth" to their process.

Review: Quebec City-based singer/songwriter Margaux Suave and collaborator/producer Louis-Etienne Santais earned plenty of praise for their first album as Ghostly Kisses, 2022's Heaven, Wait. It framed the project as a new iteration of dream-pop, with the pair drawing inspiration from melancholic synth-pop, downtempo, hazy indie-pop and lo-fi soul. Sophomore set Darkroom continues in this vein while subtly expanding the pair's sonic horizons. Throughout, they shuffle attractively between string-laden trip-hop ('There Is No More Space'), dreamy two-step pop ('Golden Eyes'), slow-motion, Balearic-tinged synth-pop ('Lonesome Hero'), twinkling deep house-pop ('Calm Down') and orchestrated ambient pop ('Silver Screen').

Review: Brighton outfit Phoria have rightfully received plenty of critical acclaim over the course of their previous two albums - and it isn't likely to abate now they drop their third. River Oblivion builds on previous works in that it blends all the electronic intricacies of their debut with the newly added orchestral manoeuvres of their second. This fresh, supersonic journey takes us through the mind of writer Trewin Howard as it was during the many different highs and lows of those dark pandemic days. A real rollercoaster that will keep you coming back for more.