Here's an interesting low-profile one. As the story goes, a few years ago, Australian Xavier Bacash, one half of psychedelic pop duo Gypsy & the Cat, released a final album - Virtual Islands - with his bandmate Lionel Towers and competed a farewell tour, before splitting from Melbourne to Copenhagen. In the Danish capital, Xavier explored and absorbed local club culture, became fascinated with Japanese-House producers such as Shinichiro Yokota and Soichi Terada, and released an instrumental EP titled "C.E." under a new alias, Sonny.

Three years on, Xavier has just released "Union: Integration of the Shadow" - his first full length album as Sonny - through his own Northern Underground Records imprint. The press material around "Union: Integration of the Shadow" makes reference to Scandinavia's Bjorn Torske and Future3, and the influence of jungle/drum & bass, downtempo and jazz, and while these elements come through across the album, at it's heart, "Union" feels like an exercise in off-kilter pop experimentation - eccentric but accessible.

In a similar vein to Bullion's recent "We Had A Good Time" EP, Sonny taps into a gracefully world-weary Balearic take on synth-pop, cybernetic beatscapes and well-listened exercises in electronic style referencing rubbing against listless, heartsick, and sometimes darkly prophetic lyric writing wrapped up in wistful vocal melodies. Perhaps the most cutting of sentiments on the album can be found in the ambient boogie bop of "This Will Be Our Year". Powered by rainforest synth-melodies and a two- part repeated refrain "This Will Be Our Year / You Better Think Twice", under different conditions it could be celebratory. Instead, it catches the weight and dread of the pandemic with perfect poise. Isn't it strange how life can change how you hear a song?

From nervy-but-romantic album opener "The Feels", "Union" is full of these sort of moments, eerily sung, emotionally inverted sentiments, gently lapping against a hardware-heavy sonic landscape decorated by recordings of birds, rivers, and winds, and sometimes, Xavier's Swedish fiancé. Considered songcraft and dreamy dancefloor hypnotism, a beautiful, if not somewhat melancholic union indeed. There is a lot to unpack here.

"Union: Integration of the Shadow" is available for purchase in vinyl and digital formats through Northern Underground Records (here)