Around Sound [LP]

The second solo record by Mike Polizze of Philadelphia psych-squallers Purling Hiss and Birds of Maya, a rainier and more pensive affair than it's predecessor-despite it's playful humor and plentiful hooks-affirms his status as a consummate (and now not-so-secret) craftsman of instantly memorable bucolic odes of languid beauty, deepening his fingerstyle acoustic guitar magic and finally manifesting the title of the classic Hiss anthem "Run from the City." He's uncovered a rich seam of songwriting, classic-sounding yet modern, unquestionably nostalgic in temperament but undeniably vital... Even when he's at his most melancholy and hangdog, the songs themselves gleam like diamonds. - Uncut -The sound of the record approaches bliss: the sonic equivalent of a beer on the beach at sunset. It flows like a well-conceived song cycle and moves gracefully from one thought to the next. - Pitchfork - Exquisitely beautiful... It has the wondrous, enveloping quality of a daydream. - American Songwriter - I love this music so much... So many of these songs give me chills. - Kurt Vile