Last Summer, Daniel Foggin, guitarist, writer and chief architect of Smote, uprooted himself from his usual home in Newcastle to live and work in a farmhouse in Kelso, near the Scottish border. “Through the summer when I was working up there, myself and Rob (Smote drummer) would finish work and go sit by a small river and have a couple of beers in the sun, and it was the best thing ever” he relates “So I guess the philosophy is that to some people it looks like any other stream, but to us it was supreme happiness.” Hence came the title of the fourth Smote album proper, one largely recorded in this same farmhouse – A Grand Stream. It’s an album that’s the truest incarnation thus far of his vision for this band – a full-scale psychic voyage into the ether and a drone-and-repetition-fuelled series of incantations that takes simple, primal ingredients and utilises them for the purposes of aural sorcery, summoning spectres and revelations aplenty in its wake. Whilst the folk-tinged, ceremonial ambience that Smote have made their trademark is present and correct here, utilising Swedish classic psych heaviness and Swans textures as fuel for the ominous rhythms of ‘Coming Out Of A Hedge Backwards’ and the uplifting cadences of opener ‘Sitting Stone Part 1’, Foggin and his cohorts also waste little time exploring new more eerie and ethereal textures and dimensions. The meditative ‘Chantry’ in particular sees them gravitate towards a headspace akin to the drone-based epiphanies of Kali Malone’s ‘Does Spring Hide Its Joy’ filtered through the transcendent amplifier worship of ‘Earth 2’.
Release date:
October 4, 2024
Label:
Install our app to receive notifications when new upcoming releases are added.

Recommended equipment and accessories
-
Cartridges - Top Picks
A selection of turnatble cartridges that provide great performance and sound quality
-
Vinyl Care - Top Picks
A selection of accesories to keep your turntable equipment & vinyl records in the best shape
-
Pro-Ject Phono Box DC Pre-Amp
Compact, high-performance phono preamplifier for both MM and MC cartridges, delivering a clean, detailed signal with minimal noise.
-
HumminGuru: Ultrasonic Vinyl Record Cleaner
Advanced ultrasonic technology with customizable cleaning cycles and a large tank capacity to thoroughly remove dust, dirt, and contaminants
-
Phono Preamps - Top Picks
A selection of the best phono preamps for your turntable setup
Featured Upcoming Vinyl
-
Yamamoto Tsuyoshi Trio Requests: Tsuyoshi Yamamoto Trio Live Vol.2
Somethin'Cool
May 23, 2025 -
Model/Actriz Pirouette
True Panther Records
May 2, 2025 -
Face Yourself Martyr EP (Multicolor Splatter)
Sumerian Records
June 6, 2025 -
Ezra Furman Goodbye Small Head (Sea Blue)
Bella Union
May 16, 2025 -
Kokoroko Tuff Times Never Last
Brownswood Recordings
July 11, 2025 -
Alice Cooper The Revenge Of Alice Cooper (Yellow) [2xLP]
Earmusic
July 25, 2025 -
M(h)aol Something Soft
Merge Records
May 16, 2025 -
Kaonashi I Want To Go Home
Equal Vision Records
June 6, 2025 -
Andy Bell Ten Crowns (White)
Crown Recordings
May 23, 2025 -
Teether Neil Yearn IV
Chapter Music
May 2, 2025 -
Cancer Inverted World
Peaceville Import
May 2, 2025 -
Kara-Lis Coverdale From Where You Came (Clear)
Smalltown Superjazz
May 9, 2025 -
The K's Pretty On The Internet
Lab Records
June 27, 2025 -
Fly Anakin The Forever Dream [2xLP]
Lex Records
May 30, 2025