Scottish folktronica outfit Molly Wagger gained quiet but consistently positive recognition for their 2011 debut, Flambeaux.  The record is a heady brew of subdued electronic texture and warm, rich emotion; certainly, it is more than deserving of its various accolades and remains criminally underplayed the world over.  The voice of singer Charlie Denholm warranted favourable comparisons with The Beta Band’s Steve Mason, but on this latest release he conjures more of the likes of Ed Droste.

Replete with swirling guitars and cascading percussion, ‘Stoneclouds’ is classic Molly Wagger.  Gentle piano figures tether the verses to a plaintive vocal, lyrically somewhere between ‘Eleanor Rigby’ and ‘Castles Made of Sand’.  Like much of their earlier work, there is a clear binary divide between the looming, minor chords of the verses and the triumphantly celestial choruses that build the tune to completion.  This crescendo, tremulous at first, then gathering in force like swirling cloud banks, is bolstered by a throbbing distortion that lends a curious darkness to the light of the song’s resolution.

This is the nebulous music of yearning, and it occupies a space at once heavy as the bedrock and light as the clouds from whence it derives its name.  Don’t miss the billowy, unsettling video and keep your eyes on the horizon for Molly Wagger as the rays of their success start to peek through.

Visit the band’s website for more info.