Double Exposure is not exactly a departure for James Hoare (Veronica Falls, Ultimate Painting, Proper Ornaments), but the album features some of the rawest and most stripped-down sounds he has recorded so far. Unlike his previous projects, guitars often take a back seat to drum machines and a more minimalist approach, although they are still present — notably in the striking solo on the opening track Regrets. Continuing the direction of his Penny Arcade project and the 2024 album Backwater Collage, the record moves between darker atmospheres and brighter moments: the hallucinatory gloom of Worst Trip sits alongside the English psychedelia of You’ve Got the Key and the melancholic soul of Everything’s Easy.
Recorded quickly while Hoare was preparing to move to the south of France, the album embraces a lo-fi and spontaneous character, prioritizing mood and experimentation over complex arrangements. Drum machines, organs, and varied guitar textures shape often short tracks — sometimes instrumental — capturing ideas as they emerge. In this sense, Double Exposure works like a layering of musical impressions, echoing the photographic technique that inspired its title and evoking both the experimental spirit of 1960s psychedelia and a contemporary sense of creative freedom.
.png)
