Pitchfork

Sarah Records may be long gone, but even as the beloved indie-pop label's influence persists in groups from the Honeydrips to Voxtrot, members of a couple of the better-known Sarah bands have formed a sort of modest supergroup. Bobby Wratten of the Field Mice and Trembling Blue Stars joins Carolyn Allen and Gerard "Caesar" McInulty of the Wake (who also recorded for iconic post-punk label Factory Records) in the Occasional Keepers, recently releasing second album True North on British imprint LTM. Opening track "If the Ravens Leave" curls up in the hearth-warmed electronics and bedsit earnestness that have been the hallmarks of Wratten's groups, overseen here by Saint Etienne producer/multi-instrumentalist Ian Catt. Wratten murmuringly describes the birds' departure "beneath the moon's glow," as minimal guitar stabs, sustained synth chords, and programmed beats-- accompanied eventually by chiming guitars and, later, a skeletal bass line-- evoke a cozy intimacy. It's the middle of a long night, the middle of a long day, and the radio weather report butts up against the stereo's "Stardust" as Wratten envisions kingdoms falling. Twee is a humble kingdom, for sure, but one that has managed to quietly piss off hostile attackers for multiple generations of bands now.

Stream:> The Occasional Keepers: "If the Ravens Leave"
[from True North; out now on LTM]