Wanderlust Of Venus

Produced by Claw The Thin Ice Recorded by Jamie Birkett at Low Four Studios, Manchester and Adelphi Studios, Salford Additional recording by Phil Bretnall at Wellington House, Manchester and by Jon Fearon at his home, Manchester Pre-production recorded by Scott Mitchell Mixed by Lee Anthony Calpee Mastered by Carl Saff (www.saffmastering.com) Artwork photographed by Layla Sailor Sundae created by Miloš Hudec Layout and design by Jake Beddow Claw The Thin Ice is: Ian Breen - lead vocal, electric guitar, synthesizer and programming, piano Jake Beddow - backing vocal, electric guitar, synthesizer and programming Toby Potter - bass guitar Daniel Jones - drumkit with: Jamie Birkett - synth design and drum machine Daniel Means - saxophone on Houdini and Heaviness Alison Carney - lead vocal on Wildlife Tom Hall - lead vocal on Seasick Liam Stewart – percussion on Wildlife "It’s a rare jewel when a band is as consummate at using the studio as an instrument as they are at writing and playing songs, and this Manchester unit, on their third album – upon which work commenced even before the release of their 2015 album Exercise – nail exactly such an alchemy. Wanderlust Of Venus soars, pours forth, forges, morphs and indeed claws its way through deeply arresting sonic terrains with enviable fluidity, poignancy and bravura. Ian Breen’s gossamer tenor acts as a sulphur beacon, guiding us through these landscapes – a voice that can go from a pretty croon to a post-hardcore shriek in a single phrase. The songs themselves are wound together around a rhythm section so tight and muscular one might presuppose it were simply one Kali-limbed entity. Born of multiple turbulences, personnel-shifts, and detailing a doomed romance, bookended by death, it’s a sometimes somber, but always inspiring and embattled record, with a sound infinitely fresher than countless Pro-Tools- neutered contemporary guitar bands – revivifyingly raw as it is cinematic and widescreen, Wanderlust Of Venus is a dazzling, heartbreaking and inspirational record. With guest appearances by Dan Means of NYC avant-compositional unit Kayo Dot, Tom Hall (Papayer), Alison Carney (She The Throne) and Liam Stewart (NASDAQ/Plank/Burrowing) it boasts a familial nature – life can be cruel and divisive, but we’re in this together, and music can save us all – Wanderlust Of Venus deserves a huge audience, and in these times of uncertainty and chaos, it’s fair to say indeed that *we* need a record as beautiful, raw, poppy, clever and honest as Wanderlust Of Venus."