Bluish Green finds Ashleigh and Melissa Ball working in N1_Sound’s studio, and assuming the alias T3AL. Amazingly, given how great the results are, this was the first time that the sisters had recorded together. The 5-track mini-album is built around deep, dub bass, hushed, whispered vocals, and equally ethereal, floating, fluttering flute. Plus the odd echoed shake of percussion. Despite their limited ingredients the simple arrangements never feel stripped back or sparse – since they’re all swimming in soft focus synths, treated textures, and reggae soundclash rimshot ricochets and SFX. Cool and groovy gear, Yellow Moon’s snares have a jazzy, head nodding swing, while Flip That Switch’s badass modal funk b-line doffs its chapeau to the mighty Jah Wobble.

The songs themselves are romantic numbers that shimmy in a synergy between street soul and lovers rock. Pieces of peaceful, seductive pop, that are extended into heat-hazed, sun stroked, perhaps slightly stoned, musical mediations. Two of the tracks are close to 8 minutes long. One of those is the instrumental, Frog Legacy, which mixes harmonium-like drones with machine-generated weather to create a mystical / spiritual soundscape of Jon Hassell-esque fourth world ambience. Its title references the wooden amphibian-shaped guiro that’s tapped and scratched throughout.

Due to its currently super limited pressing of only 100 copies, Bluish Green, I believe, is destined to become a cult classic – just like those Sugar / Winsome sides that I’m always banging on about. Not retro, rather timeless, definitely have a listen if you’re into the reiusses on Backatcha and Heels & Souls, and / or Lexx Music and Test Pressing Catalogue’s recent output.

T3AL’s Bluish Green is out now on Spiritual World.