Lorna Irvine finds the new album 'all very lovely, and flawlessly crafted'.
Twin sisters Naomi and Lisa-Kainde Diaz have arrived on the scene fully-formed, not least because their father Miguel, who died when they were eleven years old, was a world-class conga player. It's in their blood.
This, their eponymous debut album produced by XL boss Richard Russell, is absolutely bewitching--mostly.
There is something, as everyone knows, about the vocal harmonies of siblings, from the Carter Family to The Unthanks, which causes a goosebump effect--the prickly 'just different enough' harmonies inexorably entwined. The Diaz twins are no exception-they can silence a room singing even a cappella.
Love lost, and death too, spirals through this album. While this may sound a morose way to introduce a debut, the ethereal nature of their sound is utterly compelling.
It's not all perfect--often too polished, as on ‘Stranger/Lover’ which veers into cinematic trip hop territory, not helped by tastefully derivative piano.
But when they get it right it's sheer alchemy. 'Oya' is stripped-back, using minimalist vocals against a haunting drone. The strength of 'Faithful’ lies in its simplicity, a sweet, emotionally raw melody line and scattered hand claps with a request to a lover to 'be faithful to me/show me loyalty'.
'Weatherman' follows jagged keyboard bursts and 'Mama Says', which made the nation swoon when they performed it on Jools Holland's 'Later', an elegiac ballad to their mother, asking her to stay strong after losing their father.
'River' is the most traditional perhaps, a Cuban chant with bendy basslines and folky storytelling structure.
All very lovely, and flawlessly crafted--but if they cut loose more, and perhaps worked with Leila or Bjork as producer...well, just imagine the outcome.
Ibeyi is out Feb 16th on XL, distributed by Rough Trade.
They play Glasgow' s Broadcast on 21st February, and tour throughout Britain.
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