This 250-copy limited edition release on Portuguese label Dagaz Music was produced to mark a live performance given by the three bands in Lisbon in January 2008. There are two tracks apiece from each band, all of which are exclusive to this release.

Rose MacDowall’s tracks, ‘Our Twisted Love’ and ‘This Calling’, are her first new songs in nearly eight years. ‘Our Twisted Love’ opens with Rose’s unmistakable vocals and harmonium chords describing a scenario of mournfulness and regret. Unobtrusive guitar and bass thicken the sound as the song picks up pace slightly. There is cello and violin backing, with the cello being played by Joanna Quail of SonVer. ‘This Calling’ is slightly more upbeat and dominated by guitar, although its sad, ethereal pop still wistfully celebrates a lost love. Rose MacDowall’s work is always distinctive, although there are evident affinities here to the shoegazing bands of the early 90s such as My Bloody Valentine and Lush, and the slower, quieter work of the Jesus And Mary Chain. It’s good to hear some new work at last from this talented singer.

The first track from Naevus is a new acoustic version of 'Frozen!', the first track on their Soil album. For the purposes of this release, Naevus are stripped back to the core duo of Lloyd James and Joanne Owen. Lloyd’s clear, carefully phrased vocals and strummed acoustic guitar are backed with Joanne’s bass and accordion, with the song concluding with some interesting interplay between accordion and melodica. 'Green Is The Colour' follows, which is a cover version of an early Pink Floyd song written by Roger Waters and sung by Dave Gilmour, from the 1969 album More. Personally speaking, I always preferred this period of Pink Floyd, from A Saucerful of Secrets to Ummagumma, to the overblown, pretentious prog piffle which followed during the 1970s, and it seems I’m not alone in this. The original version of 'Green Is The Colour' is a simple pastoral ballad, which makes the idea of Naevus doing a Pink Floyd cover less bizarre than it seems at first sight, and this version is heartbreakingly tender and intimate, with long, warm accordion notes overlaid with a softly cuckooing ocarina.

SonVer is a project unfamiliar to me, but their music fits very well with the rest of this disc. ‘AD’ is a languid instrumental, with two electric guitars intertwining with cello and drums, building in intensity towards a psychedelic rock climax quite similar to King Crimson or some Hawkwind. The second SonVer track is a live version of ‘Eyeman Praying’, a sparser, more minimal piece featuring cello, guitar and electronics. Less propulsive and structured than ‘AD’, this composition’s slow, atmospheric drifts and isolated fragments of plucked guitar situate it more within dark ambient territory. SonVer have similarities to other experimental projects using classical instrumentation in unusual ways, such as Amber Asylum, Crippled Black Phoenix, Autumn Tears or Elend, and I’d be interested in hearing more from this band.

Music Box 2008 is a slight but delicious little release, over all too soon but beguilingly beautiful throughout its six-track duration, and impressively cohesive as a split release for these three well-matched acts. Too bad I wasn’t at the live show – I bet that was a fantastic evening. For Naevus fans, too, this release will serve as an appetiser for the forthcoming new album, Relatively Close To The Sea, due for release later this year.

www.dagaz-music.com

www.rosemacdowall.com

www.naevus.co.uk

www.sonver.co.uk