Pale Saints’ Ian Masters & His Name is Alive’s Warren Defever released new ESP Summer LP (listen)
ESP Summer, aka Pale Saints' Ian Masters and his onetime 4AD labelmate Warren Defever of His Name is Alive, put out a few records of folky, ethereal psych in the late '90s. Then last year the project was reignited with Kingdom of Heaven, a Japan-only limited edition lathe-cut record which is now out in a much more official capacity.
Inspired by the 13th Floor Elevators song of the same name, Kingdom of Heaven starts as a cover but then spins out in all sorts of weird and wonderful directions. If you're a fan of either Pale Saints or His Name is Alive, you will dig the dark, ethereal textures Masters and Defever explore here. You can listen to the whole thing and watch a short video for it below.
The album is out via the Disciples label which put out Defever's pre-HNIA recordings as All the Mirrors in This House back in 2019. The packaging is lovely with the album pressed on clear vinyl and housed in a reverse board die-cut sleeve with silver foil embossed kanji lettering. There's also a fold-out A2 poster insert: "a 2-sided full colour psychotropic extravaganza designed by Alexander Tucker, an underground comic book artist also renowned for his own solo recordings for labels such as Thrill Jockey and Alter, and his collaboration with Daniel O’Sullivan as Grumbling Fur." Order yours.
ESP Summer released another EP, titled Home, last year, and you can stream that below, too.
Masters and Defever also played a part in the Magic Roundabout album that was just released via Third Man.
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