Ships – Precession album review: supremely accomplished, intelligent music

Dublin-based Ships (Sorca McGrath and Simon Cullen) have been carefully nurturing their songs for close to five years, and while McGrath has spent some time performing with other musicians (notably Swedish/Irish band Badlands), the time has finally arrived for Ships to, well, set sail.

Further extending the nautical analogies, there are no rough swells here, but rather gentle, reflective propulsive shifts in tone and rhythm that ably reference the duo's mutual regard for 1980s' keyboard pop and expression of personal experience. Songs such as Round and Round, Another Way, Around this World, None of it Real and All will Be are each configured to set scenes according to moods.

Simply put, it’s supremely accomplished, intelligent music from perceptive practitioners. Not much more to say, other than this: all aboard.

[ bandcamp.com/music ]