25. February 2014
Things You Can Buy Today 25 February 2014
New Release Information
Beck – ‘Morning Phase‘
“At its core, Morning Phase is a record about what to do when the world seems totally fucked. Irony doesn’t cut it anymore; truth, beauty and resolve are the best weapons. “Looked up this morning/Saw the roses full of thorns/Mountains are falling,” Beck croons with falsetto swoops on “Morning,” then asks, “Can we start it all over again?” He could be referring to a crashed relationship, or a trashed ecosystem. On “Heart Is a Drum,” which radiates the cocooned warmth of Nick Drake’s Bryter Layter, he asks, “Why does it hurt this way?/To come so far to find they’ve closed the gates.” Coming in the wake of a back injury so severe Beck couldn’t pick up a guitar for a number of years, Morning Phase’s struggle toward the light feels as personal as it does universal.” – Will Hermes (RollingStone.com)
Neneh Cherry – ‘Blank Project‘
“Blank Project isn’t a roaring, triumphant return to form. Instead it’s understated to the extreme, a master class in the ways in which simple pleasures can become fascinatingly deep. The opening track, “Across the Water”, is simply Cherry singing over a bracingly austere drum arrangement, with zero in the way of melodic accompaniment. Between her rich, unembellished voice and emotional performance it’s somehow more overwhelming than most songs that have full orchestral backing.” – Miles Raymer (Pitchfork.com)
Lo-Fang – ‘Blue Film‘
“…The arrangements and production are exquisite. Most of Blue Film feels like it exists in a dark clinical space into which Hemerlein places electronic beats, numerous synth layers and piano, violin and cello, amongst other instruments, but never becomes overloaded. Album opener ‘Look Away’ is perhaps the densest song and one of the best also with layers of synths alone buzzing and fizzing, ticking percussively and leaving glistening effervescent arcs, whilst plucked violin arpeggios morph into the swooning chorus melody mirrored by Hemerlein’s falsetto. It’s so meticulously arranged that not a single sounds feel intrusive or superfluous, that it until the extended banjo and cello outro which is an indulgence, but a beautiful divergence nonetheless. At opposite end of the spectrum is the desolate intimacy of ‘Confusing Happiness’ consisting of little more than bass beats, drones fading up in volume to sudden stops and pealing violin.” – Neil Ashman (DrownedInSound.com)
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