The Brighton-based quartet from the UK, better known as Penelope Isles, launched their debut album titled Until The Tide Creeps In over the summer, and it checks all the right boxes. The full-length record is a timeless collection of 10 artfully executed songs.
The band was formed by siblings Jack and Lily Wolter. They are both avid songwriters who became close and developed a strong bond over their love for music in their teenage years. Initially, they started as a two-piece band called “Your Gold Teeth,” which was joined by two more members Jack Sowton and Becky Redford, a few years later, and that is how Penelope Isles came into being.
All the songs on the album embrace a similar mood palette, with some variations that draw inspiration from the ’90s. Covering genres like dream pop, rock, lo-fi, all of which seem to lend a very whimsical and almost melancholic touch to the album that might be the perfect listen for lazy summer evenings.
The title track, “Chlorine,” kicks off the album. In its essence, it is a smooth indie jam that tastefully mixes jazzy notes with a heavy guitar-laden background. The song’s chorus, with its lyrics “You left your head up. I hope it kills your swollen ego,” talks about a family divide that tugs at your heartstrings.
Moving on, “Round,” the second track, is a soft jam with an addictive hook that talks about a love that moves in between delight, despair, and insecurity. As music professionals at Track Club have dubbed it, “a nice blend of psych-rock and dream-pop that is sweet and reminiscent.”
Bass notes and guitar licks intertwine with the lead singer Jack Wolter’s falsetto with reverb. His haunting lyrics will stay with you hearing the words “If you’re okay / We’re okay / You have been round” within the repetitive, hypnotic chorus.
Next up, we have the song “Not Talking” with its fragile mix of vocals and relaxed arpeggiated guitar. The piece “Underwater Record Store” is where we get to hear Lily’s ethereal voice illustrating an event that involved building a sandcastle at the beach when she was a child. “My dad took me to a real castle, To make me see that nobody’s got me down,” croons Lily, appreciating her Dad.
The familial component of the ensemble is also seen in the denser 7-minute track “Gnarbone,” which talks about their journey leading up to the formation of Penelope Isles. Starting with a distorted note, the song slowly progresses towards a mellow dream-like loop towards the end, which, in a way, represents their trajectory from their earlier life towards Penelope Isles.
Bidding adieu, the track “Through the Garden” is another ode, this time to their mother. “Mother, I love you but we must go,” Lily urges, her raw emotions binding to every note while proceeding towards the closing lines of the track with, “I walked home through the garden, Through myself in the pillows, Could stay but I already know, My head would fall into a hole,”
What brings the whole album to life is that each of the songs on the album tells a different story told from the different perspectives of the Wolter siblings. Going by the execution of each piece and unique amalgam of talents, it is hard to believe that they are just starting with this album. Instead, it feels as if they have been in the industry for very long, and this is their sixth or seventh release. The entire ensemble consists of musically harmonic tracks that lean towards a whimsical melancholy that binds it together like a book, steadily captivating the listener from the start till the parting song.
You can find Penelope Isles tour dates here, and either stream or purchase Until The Tide Creeps In here.
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