Lorna Irvine thinks the band's debut is 'a gorgeous start'.
Be very careful with this debut album- it is a thing of fragile beauty. One gust of wind and it could all smash into smithereens.
The London-based trio's sound is all about lead singer Elena Tonra's gorgeous voice: its purity heart-breaking up against Igor Haefeli's brittle guitar harmonics. Their sound should appeal to admirers of Cocteau Twins and the XX, with whom they share a similar sonic palette, but also lovers of Laura Marling as there is a folkish element. Nobody else sounds quite like them just now.
Lyrically, though, something dark and disturbing pervades- songs like Youth are concerned with illness and death: ''If you're still breathing you're the lucky ones/ Cause most of us are still heaving through corrupted lungs,'' Tonra sings. Elsewhere, Still is concerned with a soured love affair, yet the ex-lovers are still going through the motions of being together.
Such angst would be prosaic and, many would argue, typical for a 4AD band, but there is a self-awareness and maturity beyond their tender years here. If you like moody, reflective music with subtle melodies that sneak up on you, you could do much worse.
A gorgeous start- they can only get more interesting.
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