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What is lo-fi? Is it a genre? Is it a recording style? Is it a necessity? Perhaps it's all three. Or maybe it’s something else entirely. Bristolian trio Crescent have been making music that can only be labeled as lo-fi for the best part of two decades. Their 6th effort, Resin Pockets, sees the group go back to the well once again to deliver nine tracks of that sweet, sweet late summer pop that sounds exactly like the smell of freshly laid tarmac.
Opener “Get Yourself Tidy” has everything that makes the group great: childish, melancholic melodies and deceptively simple instrumentation that never misses a beat. Everything is perfectly placed, from the first strum to the last beat of the drum. There’s seemingly no room for waste in the world of Crescent.
“I’m Not Awake” gloriously crashes into your earholes and instantly throws up a rather important question: why haven’t Crescent got a huge cult following? In the USA you can’t move for sub-par anti-folk bands, but for some reason, in the UK the lo-fi craze has never really had the same shine. If there’s any justice in the world then Resin Pockets will be Crescent’s breakthrough moment. Perhaps we best not hold our breath. The last few years have proven that it's nightmares that come true, not dreams.

The way the album is recorded, presumably at home on one of those 8-track tapedeck things, gives it an incredibly personal feel. On "Willow Pattern" it feels like Matt Jones and co. are in the room, playing you lovely little lullabies to get you to sleep. Unlike a lot of low-fidelity indie rock, the fuzzy recording techniques on the album are used as a device to enhance the songs, rather than to hide the artist’s weaknesses.

The sweetness doesn’t end there. Crescent hit maximum cuteness with their crescendo and album highlight “Lightbulbs In The Trees”. The track is the hip and happening lullaby you always wanted your mum to sing you when you were a baby. She always ended up singing "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star" though, didn’t she? The fiend. Like the rest of the record, the song is all about the gentle keyboard plinks and soothing guitar licks.

Resin Pockets might not tell us what lo-fi really is, but when it’s done this well, it’s hard to care. Long live lo-fi, whatever the hell it is.