What does it sound like?:
Two of my favourite discoveries this year are the music of Bonny Light Horseman (ok I was a bit late getting to them) and in particular the wondrous voice and brilliant songwriting of Anaïs Mitchell and this luminous second album by the young Irish singer songwriter Aoife Nessa Frances (although they sound nothing like each other).
The album was conceived on the west coast of Ireland and the influence of the ocean is clearly evident in both the overall liquid sound and the windswept ebb and flow of the arrangements with many songs being allowed to run for six or seven minutes but never overstaying their welcome. Aoife has a rich dark voice that at time has echoes of both Nico and Bridget St John and these artists are represented on an accompanying Spotify playlist ‘Protected’ which has a wide ranging set of music which has been influential in how these songs have evolved https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3Fr6sBsHEcapdXwZlIKnUs?si=c97dd839ee3a4a6d
The arrangements throughout are stunning; sometimes quite complex with beautiful use of dense brass chords alongside flutes, all manner of keyboards and guitars but never sounding cluttered or overly intrusive. The use of harp is particularly striking and there is long instrumental section on ‘Only Child’ which features that instrument alongside some almost atonal viola playing, making the whole thing sound not unlike John Cale jamming with Alice Coltrane. Lyrically the elemental imagery of earth and water continues the connectedness of the album with the physical place and time in which the music was born, although it’s certainly not all sweetness and light with murky undercurrents reflecting the state of the world rising above the surface from time to time.
What does it all *mean*?
Today’s young artists are continuing to explore and experiment and not afraid to look backwards for their inspiration without being mere imitators. I guess unlimited access to every kind of music can be both a help and a hindrance, but the way Aoife has weaved her many influences into this album without it sounding derivative is to be applauded.
Goes well with…
It’s a great headphone listen but it’s just a great album to submerge yourself in (there I go again with watery imagery).
Release Date:
Out now
Might suit people who like…
There are songs here that could work for anyone who likes inventive but still melodic and beautifully thought out ‘singer songwriter’ genre music. On one extreme Dido fans might enjoy much of this but so could those who lean more towards say Roisin Murphy or Beth Gibbons.
Feedback_File says
This is the lead off track
Lodestone of Wrongness says
nogbad says
She was on tonight at Moth Club.
Couldn’t go..smug mate did..
Feedback_File says
Yes I saw that but wasn’t able to go.
retropath2 says
I too liked the new Bonny Light Horseman, a lot more than the debut of trad arr covers. It was much more congruent than that release and they sound like a band. Let’s hope they tour over here next year.
And you have sold this album to my by the phrase “beautiful use of dense brass chords alongside flutes, all manner of keyboards and guitars”.
Mike_H says
It’s not really my cuppa, but the arrangement on that was very inventive so kudos for that.
retropath2 says
Got mine today. Delightfully dreamy; like an orchestral Mazzy Star.
NigelT says
My new granddaughter is called Aoife and I’d never heard the name before…I will have to listen now!