Previously only available as a self-released CDR (Ltd x 99, 2022), "The Sympathy Portal" collects four tracks (40 mins, one of which is divided into three parts) that make full use of Edward Ka-Spel's (The Legendary Pink Dots) command for melody, texture and mood. Built from drifting keyboards, treated vocals, subtle field recordings and gently coiling rhythms coupled to often despairing or melancholic lyrics, the music moves between cosmic unease and fragile calm, with dynamics that breathe rather than overwhelm.

"The Sympathy Portal" was created as 2020 drifted into 2021, reflecting a moment marked by uncertainty and isolation. This album reflects much of the fear and tension of the time, but the last song, 'Angel Trail (Slight Return)', was intended to offer some genuine hope, revived for the release after first appearing in a different form on The Legendary Pink Dots' "9 Lives to Wonder" back in 1994. It could be argued that the angel trail Edward so eloquently refers to is something that needs to be found more than ever and that, thankfully, his music helps to illuminate this despite its mostly distressed overtones.

Ltd x 300 copies.