What better way is there to cut through the gloomy veil of wintertime than the scintillating psych-folk sounds of Cristobal and The Sea? If your answer is: fog lights, you frankly underestimate the power of the quartet’s expansive exoticism.

The band is made up of Alejandro Romero from Spain, João Seixas from Portugal, Leïla Séguin from Corsica/France and Josh Oldershaw from the UK. Their Peach Bells EP is set for release on December 8^th via City Slang and it’s definitely worth a spin.

Peach Bells actually sounds like an outlandish cocktail, blending together Balearic spirit with traces of Bossa nova and splashes of experimental psychedelia. It’s a heady mix that would sit comfortably on the shelf between Glass Animals and John Wizards. The majority of the instrumentation was captured live in just one or two takes, creating an air of spontaneity and playfulness. The distinctive delivery of standout ‘My Love (Ay Ay Ay)’, and the light-hearted lyricism and pace of  closing track ‘Zorro’, are reminiscent of early Devendra Banhart recordings.

With producer Rusty Santos at the helm, together the outfit agreed the aim of Peach Bells was for fun to be at the forefront:

“When talks shifted to what producer we might want, we suggested working with Rusty from the very beginning, since we were really interested in some of the artists he had worked with (i.e. Animal Collective, Ariel Pink, Vashti Bunyan, Grizzly Bear). Once we knew Rusty was on board, we wanted him to be an integral part of the band. We wanted it to be fun and also to have fun, while recording it, which is what we did, hoping that this fun would be contagious to the people listening to it.”

The result is truly a boho-opus. If you are a London resident or live elsewhere, but find yourself extraordinarily and inexplicably lost, get yourself to The Waiting Room on December 9^th for the official launch. Expect groovy dancing and wide-eyed grinning.

 

David Weir