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Mar 04, 2020 Web Exclusive By Matt the Raven

Hyacinth, the second album from Spinning Coin, is a supposed bold step forward for this Glasgow/Berlin quartet. But the theoretical doesn’t translate to reality as the 13 tracks offered here tread in conventional guitar pop waters, hardly a bold move.

While musically harmless, there are no memorable pop hooks and not very many hummable melodies, the improbable “Ghosting” excepted. The songs too often have no direction and fail to elicit any real emotion. Some bands overcome this by relying on the vocals to provide the tunes with an emotional lift, but this can’t be said for Spinning Coin. Perhaps an acquired taste, the vocals are too coarse and often distract from the languid, yet amiable, compositions.

If evaluated on the music alone, the rating would be higher, but overall Hyacinth doesn’t have enough quaint peculiarities or dynamic rhythms to be anything but a minimal draw. (www.spinningcoin.bandcamp.com)

Author rating: 4/10