‘The Giants Lawn’ stretches the bands reach, embracing new forms and figures, living corridors and side-quests. Where past work borrowed from the literate heart of American indie, here, Luke Towart & Co. investigate earthen psychedelia, off-grid community folk, and highly bookish, antipodean snock.

Wurld Series are back with a new LP of curly rock miniatures and overgrown roadside curios.

Theres always been a fantastical bent to Wurld Series unspooling jaunts – 2021s Whats Growing threw a little Canterbury scene in with the Christchurch sound – but The Giants Lawn goes deeper down the rabbit warren; a boy named frog dreams of escape, established trees are recognized for their contributions to humanity Rearing Wesley marries schoolboy imagery with golden flushes of Richard Thompson inspired fretwork. A Private Life plays like a field recording of the morning after the carnival – cats yeowl, empty tents billow, gaudy excess sours in the clear light.

British psych-folk lends gentle, omnipresent guidance throughout, but early influences still hit; Resplendent Fortress, Lord of Shelves and Illustrious Plates bounce and buckle like Flying Nun faves 3Ds; compact vehicles for Towarts Renaissance-era flash broadcasts. – Matt Hellreigel