ALMOST FRIENDS – Again, Not Again (2026, CD, Self-Released)

RELEASE INFO:

Label: Self-Released

Format: CD, Album, digipack (with 4-dimensions gatefold card case) 

Release Date: 15 May 2026

Let me start by saying that “Again, Not Again” is an album that sounds like fragments of real life captured before they disappear. “Again, Not Again”, the latest release from Greek multi-project musician and songwriter Konstantinos Protopapas, aka Gus Boggar or Arturo Barretti, belongs firmly to the latter. Known for his involvement with projects such as Effigy, and Prins Obi, Konstantinos has always moved freely between folk, lo-fi rock, experimental songwriting and psychedelia, and here he presents a deeply personal collection of songs recorded with vocalist Aggi Vrettou. Written quietly “in between things”, these songs revolve around repetition, distance, memory and unresolved emotions, finding beauty in the small details that linger after everything else has faded. Intimate, fragile and deliberately understated, “Again, Not Again” feels like a series of late-night thoughts, where imperfect voices, sparse arrangements and understated psychedelic touches create an atmosphere of melancholy warmth. It is music about staying and leaving, holding on and letting go – and about those feelings that, despite everything, keep coming back again.

Opening with “Valentine”, the album immediately establishes its intimate character, as Aggi Vrettou’s sweet, soft vocals float over a naked acoustic arrangement, creating an intensely folky atmosphere. “Brand New Boy” brings in male vocals, with a banjo setting the scene for an acoustic piece that gently flirts with folk and neo-Americana. The brief instrumental “Again, Not Again” acts as a delicate 1:06 interlude, built around acoustic guitar and a simple folk sensibility, while “More Or Less” keeps things serene, with female vocals and little more than an acoustic guitar needed to create its warm, understated folk atmosphere. “Lovely To Return After A Fall” is another short interlude, this time with a subtle Country-ish character and Aggi’s voice adding to its intimate charm. On “Like Everybody Else”, there are no vocals at all, just the bittersweet and melancholic sound of an acoustic guitar carrying the entire instrumental piece. Things become slightly more upbeat with “Fishing Blues”, where Aggi’s vocals, acoustic guitar, folk and country-like elements come together in one of the record’s more cheerful moments. Then comes “Porpoise Mouth”, and what a cover this is! Aggi and Gus take the classic Country Joe & The Fish song and completely strip it down, turning it into a naked, folkie acoustic reinterpretation that somehow reveals an unexpected psychedelic feeling. The music itself is not psychedelic in the conventional sense, so perhaps what we are hearing is the psychedelic aura that this song has carried with it since the ’60s. “Second Life” returns to the album’s familiar territory, with female vocals and acoustic guitar creating another beautifully understated folk moment. On “Leave Me Alone”, Gus takes the vocal duties—or perhaps I should say he almost speaks the words—before the two voices eventually come together, transforming the song into a lonely acoustic ballad with a subtle folk-bluesy character. “This Is Not What I Was Thinking About But I Did” slows everything down even further, offering a sentimental instrumental built entirely around the gentle sound of an acoustic guitar. “This Roundabout” finds Gus once again behind the microphone, delivering a fragile folkie acoustic ballad accompanied solely by his guitar. Finally, “To Pray Or Not” begins in a deeply sentimental and folk-oriented mood, its first half instrumental and quietly acoustic, before Aggi’s voice enters and suddenly transforms the piece into an incredible psych-a-folking finale, bringing an unexpected psychedelic glow to the album’s intimate world.

“Again, Not Again” is a fragile, intimate, and beautifully understated record, built almost entirely from acoustic guitars, honest voices, and the emotional weight of simple songs. Yet beneath its folk and lo-fi surface, subtle psychedelic echoes keep appearing, especially when the voices and melodies drift beyond the expected. A deeply personal album that proves you don’t need walls of sound to create an atmosphere—you sometimes need only a guitar, a voice and a feeling that refuses to disappear… TimeLord Michalis

Tracklist

Links

Listen / Buy through ALMOST FRIENDS/GUS BOGGAR Bandcamp

Check GUS BOGGAR Facebook