Into the Diamond Sun

Editors’ Notes The Liverpool trio Stealing Sheep is influenced by Broadcast, Mice Parade, vintage Krautrock, early-'00s freak folk, and the 1975 film Escape to Witch Mountain. Its 2012 debut album, Into the Diamond Sun, is bountiful with hypnotizing three-part female vocal harmonies, psychedelic jams, and rhythms that click like clockwork. “The Garden” sets the tone with guitarist Emily Lansley, percussionist Lucy Mercer, and keyboard player Rebecca Hawley singing siren harmonies over lysergic guitar leads and alluring analog keyboard tones that would have made the late, great Trish Keenan proud. The trio’s penchant for shape-shifting songs is evident throughout this debut, especially on “Shut Eye,” which grooves angularly on interchangeable foundations and modular arrangements. The band's love for droning tones comes to life in “Rearrange,” which is nicely contrasted by buoyant and playful melodies. Similarly, the demurely cool “White Lies” plays like an homage to United States of America leader Joseph Byrd, while “Genevieve” is the closest that Stealing Sheep comes to accessible indie pop. At nearly 10 minutes, the closer “Bear Tracks” proves to be the most experimental.