Limerick-born Elaine Malone has been a stalwart of the Cork music scene for over a decade now. Prolific as Mantua, the singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist has also been a member of punk band Land Crabs, Krautrock-inspired Soft Focus and the Lisbon-based Pôt Pôt. Her debut EP, Land, was relased in 2018 to critical acclaim, noted for its accomplished lyricism and multi-faceted instrumentation. Pyrrhic marks a sea change in Malone’s artistic journey. Recorded by Cathal MacGabhann of The Altered Hours, the album brings together the talents of long-time collaborator Sam Clague (Crying Loser), James Christie (The Bonk) and Ruairi Dale. The album showcases a vast array of influences. Opening track ‘Open Season’ seemingly sets the tone, with its kaleidoscopic, shimmering guitars and steady rhythm, building to a wall of noise in the track’s latter moments. This is seamlessly followed by the spiralling lead lines of ‘Dark Rooms’ and the shoegaze-heavy ‘Moontread’, a melodic and emotional high-point for the album. The dense layers of My Bloody Valentine-esque glide guitar allow Malone’s measured soprano to soar. (Headstruff.com)
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