For as long as most people can remember, & ever since Sugar Jon Arcus (Armpit) bowed out of the band, Pumice has been the ad hoc alter ego of Stefan Neville. This has never sat well with Neville; he always considered Pumice a band no matter what.
Following a sabbatical from his own music that ended 'round winter 2013, Neville began collaborating on new Pumice songs with Hermione Johnson on prepared piano, Claire Mahoney (It Hurts) on vocals and (Pat) Kraus on synths. They all joined in when the songs got sorted & the time came to record - their inclusion was a natural thing. Following that queue, Neville invited several past collaborators from near and far to contribute, including Brisbane's Leighton Craig (Primitive Motion, etc.), NZ legend Glen Frenzy and Soft Abuse alum Matthew De Gennaro. Puddles is the brilliant result - the first new record of Pumice "songs" since 2012 - and it plays out almost like a Pumice mixtape. Notions of Pumice are expanded and also oddly reinforced; wobbly rhythms, intercom screech, the small silver guitar & Neville's lonesome croon all mingle with droning chord organ, synth blurts, & dense avant backdrops. All hail the king of homemade pop!
