Lia Ices - Grown Unknown (Jagjaguwar)

A beautiful lone female voice rings to signal in Lia Ices’ Second full length album ‘Grown Unknown’, sure there are plenty of golden voiced female singer-songwriters out there. However, once the sighing counter harmony comes fluttering out of the speakers as the first track ‘Love Is Won’ progresses, it becomes clear this is something worth paying attention to.

Lia’s 2008 debut ‘Necima’ was released on small label Rare Book Room records, so this is the first chance many UK listeners will be able to experience her music as this release comes our through the excellent JagJaguwar imprint.

Stand out track ‘Daphne’ slowly builds up out of a standard finger picked folk song into something quite heart melting as strings swell and counter harmonies build up. Around the half way mark an interruption of swirling noise leads to a stomping piano hook that makes you think the album’s about to go all Kate Bush, which would be entirely welcome. Though this is not the case, the suitably epic vocal swells provided by Justin Vernon (yes, him again) that lead us to the end of the track are suitably compelling.

The track ‘Grown unknown’ begins with a fantastic rhythmic hand-clapped intro that also promises an exciting break from the album’s grounding in slow balladry, but once again the track does not really deliver the Feist like pop promise that the intro sets us up for, merely moving into a pleasant but repetitive guitar pattern doesn’t really lead anywhere but to repeat of the intro that proves less exciting when used again as a chorus.

Overall the album offers a pleasant but slightly underwhelming experience. Some genuinely excellent ideas and songwriting give the impression that once Lia develops the more adventurous ideas that sprinkle this album she could be unveiling an avant-garde pop genius as her writing progresses with future releases.

Words : Michael Woods

James Blake – ‘Limit To Your Love’ (Atlas) – Single of the week

Nobody would have guessed that James Blake could sing. Considering how talented he is at producing post-dubstep beats you’d have thought he took his musical talent in that direction because he didn’t have talent in any of the more traditional areas. However, this cover of Feist’s ‘The Limit To Your Love’ proves that you shouldn’t jump to conclusions. His gorgeously aching voice perfectly coats the sparse and melancholic pianos that make up this ballad. Although he may be singing about someone else, it couldn’t be clearer that this is an internal, solitary, private thought, unshared with the lover in question. The tantalising silences between piano chords are just as important as the music itself, surreptitiously adding weight and emotion to this already histrionic song. The final addition of genius is the addition of the shuddering bass, (something that Blake is more accustomed to) which one may think of as the sound of Blake’s body shuddering under the pressure of this intensely emotional relationship he’s singing about.

Words : Robert Hakimian