LUMP - Animal (LP) - Translucent Orange Vinyl

Animal, the second album from LUMP, arrived on 30 July 2021 and still feels like a sly grin from the corner of the room. LUMP is Laura Marling and Mike Lindsay of Tunng, a pairing that sounded like a curious side quest back in 2018 and has since grown into a vivid world of its own. Where Marling’s solo work chases narrative and structure, LUMP runs on instinct and mischief. Lindsay builds the maze with pulsing synths and wiry rhythms, and Marling wanders through it, whispering strange truths with a cool, close-to-the-mic voice.

The title track sets the tone right away. Animal moves with a steady, motorik pulse that never breaks a sweat, all prickle and purr, while Marling leans into a clipped, almost spoken cadence that treats words like objects to be rearranged rather than confessions to be poured out. It is addictive in that late night, repeat-on-the-turntable way. We Cannot Resist keeps the momentum with a chant-like hook that sticks after one listen. It is easy to hear why these two songs led the campaign, and they make a strong case that LUMP vinyl belongs on the shelf next to your favorite late evening records.

Climb Every Wall turns the dial toward playful menace, a neon-lit stomp that shows how Lindsay can make a beat feel both tight and loose at once. He has a knack for analogue textures that wobble in just the right places, and he gives Marling a lot of space to deadpan her way through images and jokes that would feel out of character on her solo albums. Then there is Red Snakes, a stark, hushed beauty that remembers she once wrote folk songs that could silence a room. It lands like a secret after the synthetic rush that surrounds it, and the contrast makes both sides of LUMP feel sharper.

Part of the fun here is the persona. Marling has said that LUMP let her step away from writing as herself, and you can hear that freedom across the album. The lyrics tilt toward surreal scenes and sideways humor, closer to dream logic than diary entry. There are flashes of desire and anxiety, but they appear as masks and mirrors, not memoir. Lindsay is right there with her, piling up rubbery basslines and clockwork patterns that feel handmade rather than clinical. You can picture a small studio corner stacked with synths and drum machines, cables everywhere, a shared grin when a loop clicks into place.

Critics in the UK picked up on the spark right away, and fans who loved the debut’s Curse of the Contemporary found Animal even more sure-footed. It is a tighter, more focused set, the sound of a duo who understand the edges of their collaboration and push against them anyway. Underneath the surface polish, the album has that tactile quality that rewards a needle drop. On Animal vinyl, the low end thumps in a pleasing, rounded way, hi-hats flicker like a film projector, and Marling’s voice sits slightly forward, as if she is leaning over the counter of a small bar to share a secret.

If you like records that live in the space between pop and art, this one earns repeat spins. It also fills a neat slot in a collection. You might reach for it after a late Cocteau Twins evening or a Broadcast binge, or between Tunng and Marling proper when you want the connective tissue. And if you are browsing a Melbourne record store and see that cover with the shaggy LUMP creature staring you down, do not overthink it. Grab it, because Animal plays beautifully at home when the lights dip and the city noise fades. For anyone looking to buy LUMP records online, this is the one to start with, and it sits well alongside other LUMP albums on vinyl.

There is a practical angle too. For searchers hunting LUMP vinyl or Animal vinyl, the pressing has become a quiet favorite in shops I trust, partly because it is an easy recommendation. The album never tries to be bigger than it is. It gets in, delivers a run of sly, propulsive songs, then leaves a small glow in the room. That is the kind of modest confidence that keeps people coming back, the kind that makes a browser stop, tilt their head, and ask the person behind the counter what is playing. If you collect across styles and you value that lived-in nighttime feel, Animal deserves a spot, whether you are crate digging locally or trawling for vinyl records Australia wide.