Armlock Head Toward the Whimsical Sonic Fringes
Armlock – Seashell Angel Lucky Charm
Run for Cover Records
Australian duo Simon Lam and Hamish Mitchell have spent years wading around different genre waters.
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They met over a decade ago studying jazz and then pivoted to electronic music with their own respective projects. For the last few years, they’ve worked together as Armlock—taking yet another sonic left turn with stripped-down acoustic guitar and melancholic vocals. They went back to basics with 2021’s Trust, but follow-up Seashell Angel Lucky Charm incorporates their knowledge of fringe sounds with whimsical experimental elements.
Armlock do a lot in under 20 minutes. Seashell Angel Lucky Charm balances brooding basslines, TV-fuzz guitar, and glitchy, high-pitched vocals with delicate pop melodies and abstract lyrics. Child laughter and bird chirps combat the spiritual longing that runs throughout. “Looking for a meaning, looking for more,” Lam sings on “Guardian.” Hopeful piano and bouncy guitar plucks comfort Lam’s grand search, looking for direction in angel numbers, running water, and the sound of breathing. It epitomizes Seashell Angel Lucky Charm’s otherwise arbitrary quirks; Armlock are precious collectors, finding the delicacy in playful, warped sounds.
This is sort of the perfect album for indulging in and coming out of a hot, sticky summer depression—calm, apathy, and grace all mingle here. “Think I’ll need a miracle,” Lam laments on “Fear.” Later on, fortunate circumstances feel like a copout: “I don’t want lucky / I want you to love me,” he softly sings on “El Oh Vee Ee.”
Seashell Angel Lucky Charm captures the inexplicable and insatiable desire to keep searching. – GRADE: B
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