Sarsparilla – Karahee

Nialler has fled the country in the wake of ponytail-gate, so this gives me the opportunity to turn you onto an intriguing recent release from Wicklow’s Sarsparilla. Karahee is the first full length album by electro ace Damien Lynch, and the 8th release overall from Dublin’s Alphabet Set collective. Released on the 10th September this year (coincidentally my birthday), this 13 track assortment of electro-ambient excursions and dubby flavours had been orbiting my stereo a couple of weeks back until it got sucked in and onto repeat over the last week or so.

The stop-start sampling, inventive synths and finely-tuned beats of the opener “Gents Bikes” set an absorbing tone that is consistent throughout. An ample selection of quirky synths and satisfying retro drum machine samples are presented in other songs such as the title track, “Nun’s Cove” and “Strain”, reminding us quite a bit of the likes of Plaid and LFO. Overall this is a polished and cohesive effort that well merits 10 quid. Damo is well capable of pulling it off live too, fusing more upbeat elements to dispel any notion that it’s your standard one-man laptop gig. Below you’ll find 3 of my favourites and a link to buy Karahee from Tower Records.