Floating Points, Pharoah Sanders & the London Symphony Orchestra – Promises

Another album that came out in covid times. I remember buying this on pre-release and waiting absolutely ages for it to come out. In my head, it’s a piece of work as completely associated with that time as Tiger King or Love Island. I have really no idea why I bought it, other than I think there was a fair amount of buzz about it. And, you know, Pharoah Sanders. Other people I know own this too, and I see it in shops a lot, so it must’ve sold heaps. Turns out it was Sanders’ final album.

I haven’t played it much, because it’s mostly just a bit too ambient for me. I’m not one to frequent yoga studios, or, I dunno, independent garden centre cafes, but if they were playing this it wouldn’t be so out of place, and would make me more likely to frequent yoga studios or independent garden centre cafes. Also, the main refrain makes me think of Summer (The First Time) and I get that stuck in my head every fucking time. Honestly, I have had to make a concerted effort to banish Bobby Fucking Goldsboro from my head whilst playing this today, and still found myself unconsciously singing it along with it.

The string arrangement reminds me of Paddy McAloon’s I Trawl The Megahertz in places, which is no bad thing. On the second side, the strings come to the fore and this really is the highlight for me. Amazing.

180g vinyl, die-cut fancy sleeve, US edition...not really helping the push towards net zero here.

#NowPlaying
#FloatingPoints
#PharoahSanders
#LondonSymphonyOrchestra
#Vinyl
#Promises
#Lockdown
#Music
#BobbyGoldsboro