2017’s equal parts somnambulant and sultry ‘Sleeprydr’ 7” was aptly described as “psychedelic rock that hits like a dream despite undoubtedly seeking to soundtrack nightmares” (- Stereogum). Thankfully, ‘Slow Sundown’, Holy Motors’ debut full length release, finds the Estonian dreamcatchers utilizing a similar sonic palette ranging from dark psychedelic pop to shoegaze-inflected Western music. However, while ‘Sleeprydr’, much like 2015’s ‘Heavenly Creatures’ 7”, provided only a fleeting glimpse into the dreamscape that their music evokes, ‘Slow Sundown’’s eight tracks offer a more immersive experience for those brave enough to take the ride.

While the guitar lines from lonely cowboy ballads like ‘Honeymooning’ could easily serve as the central themes for unwritten Morricone scores, dystopian anthems like the rhythmically propelled ‘Signs’ break new ground for the band and demonstrate that Holy Motors are not bound by their influences.

Thematically, the album is comprised primarily of sad love songs centred around the idea of motion – the motion of a satellite orbiting a planet, the motion of a passenger riding shotgun in a car – as it relates to stellar-scale and existential isolation.

Produced by Merchandise’s Carson Cox and recorded at Brooklyn’s Kutch1 Studios when the band were visiting the US on tourist visas, ‘Slow Sundown’ is a beautiful alien artefact that definitively delivers on everything promised by Holy Motors’ work to date.

“Holy Motors makes shoegaze that sounds like the old West” – The Fader

“Alluring in their delivery, entrapping in their substance” – Adhoc

“A mesh of the wispy sound perfected by Mazzy Star, the swaggering doom of Chris Isaak’s ‘Wicked Game’, and the classic beauty of continental cinema from the ‘60s” – Line Of Best Fit

“Cowboy dream-pop with a dark side, like lost B-sides from the Paris, Texas soundtrack” – Interview Magazine