ambient shoegaze duo aris kindt launch the new kingdoms imprint with their second album, swann and odette. picking up where their first record (2015Æs floods) leaves off, swann and odette is an evolutionary leap forward for the duo. the sonic palette is deeper, the grooves more sparse and the melodies are given more room to seep deep within a mix so expansive it feels almost tactile. this is heady, opulent stuff. the album is immaculately produced and cunningly arranged to sidestep easy classification while not sacrificing accessibility and authentic feeling. aris kindt is the collaborative project of gabe hedrick and francis harris (scissor and thread). harris has previously released the albums leland (2012) and minutes of sleep (2014), both of which have been lauded ôfor (their) extensive use of live instruments, a contrasting feature to his work done beforeö (last.fm, 2016). building on this approach, hedrick adds his own sonic signature in effects-laden layers of electric guitar and modular synthesizer. collectively, the album swells and reverberates to create a seamless interplay of synths and instrumentation cast loose from their origins and awash in oceanic delay.