Slow, sensual, powerful, haunting, affecting, poetic and utterly gorgeous third LP by the Austin trio of Emily Cross (Cross Record), Jonathan Meiburg (Shearwater) and Dan Duszynski, which includes poetic collaborations from Laurie Anderson’s AI model. The album title in fact comes from an experiment with Anderson’s AI which generated poetry out of photo sent to the artist by Meiberg, and produced someting rather profound. This is a late-night listen that soaks in tiny unhurried detail and absolute beauty, with skittery violins, piano and gentle percussion, and above all Cross’s sensitive, intimate voice. How It Starts, for example, has a slow rippling waltz rhythm, and lyrics that seem to hover in each moment: “Faith is a rhyme / Like weather / Knows to name you / Knows to feel you / Distant bells / Ringing in my mind / And tapering / Slow motion.” A Steady Mind is another beauty, but sprightlier, hypnotic pace, with small percussive flourishes and guitar arpeggios, woodwind flourishes, gorgeous chord changes and a stirring build. Pink Sky has a lovely spookiness that echoes Portishead in their prime, but here with woodwind. Affinity has a slow sea-side syncopation and melancholy with the band’s signature slow, deep horn blast. The entire album is filled with sensual beauty from opener Please, Come In, the slow, creeping, mysterious, sparse I Swallowed A Stone, the agoraphobic feelings explored in Broken Doorbell all the way to closer Turnaround. An album to soak up again and again. Sublime. Out on Sub Pop Records.
New to comment? It is quick and easy. You just need to login to Disqus once. All is explained in About/FAQs ...
Feel free to recommend more new albums and comment below. You can also use the contact page, or find more on social media: Song Bar Twitter, Song Bar Facebook. Song Bar YouTube, and Song Bar Instagram. Please subscribe, follow and share.
Song Bar is non-profit and is simply about sharing great music. We don’t do clickbait or advertisements. Please make any donation to help keep the Bar running: