About this item

Neon Castle hones in on a fleeting sub-genre of early to mid-’80s folk-rock. For a brief moment, glistening slide guitar, fretless bass, satin floating over drum machines intertwined with ethereal female voices, conjuring a sound at once familiar and otherworldly—pop structures touched by myth. Some songs sway with the warmth of open ranch-land, crystal visions beneath thundering skies; others shimmer with candlelit mysticism, as if born in a pagan stone tower, crafted with the very staff Kate Bush might have wielded. Together, these pieces reveal a singular cloth.

Compiled by Charles Bals—now in his third collaboration with Smiling C—Neon Castle affirms his rare gift for storytelling through sound. Each track unfolds like a scene from an imagined film: castles glowing with noble gas, kingdoms awash in purple haze, white horses roaming free, hair cascading to the waist. The collection sketches a realm both new and upon a time, a world where fantasy takes shape through music. With Neon Castle, attentive listening becomes narrative.

STAFF COMMENTS

Matt says: Seductive collection of folk-tinged electro-Balearic-soul (if that makes any sense?) that's already had our Pasta Paul hot under the collar. Smiling C and Charles Bals, already highly regarded curators for the weird, warm and wonderful.

TRACK LISTING

Judie Tsuke - Shoot From The Heart
Sally Townes - Neon Castles
Suse Millemann - Patterns
Tessa Stivar - Thin Air
Skyway - Romeo
Karen Ghee - Get Free
Amy Levin - Good To You
Rainbow Boogie Band - Once In A Lifetime Touch
Susan Smith - Flight
Susan Smith - Right Before My Eyes