Album Of The Month: Washed Out — Paracosm

It seems that in Washed Out‘s case the third time really has been a charm. Although I did find some parts of his first two serious releases – The Life of Leisure EP and the debut full-length Within and Without – rather enjoyable, both of them failed to leave a strong impression on me as a whole. However, as you might have noticed, I am selecting the next one – Paracosm – as my album of the month. How did it happen? I honestly have no idea. What I mean by that is that it’s not like his music has been radically changed, it’s just some small details that have. It just seems like he has managed to find the right balance to his sound, making it easier to perceive his record as a whole, instead of noticing just a few successful tracks and it seems like those small details have played the biggest role in that. Most of all it’s, the fact that it sounds less lo-fi than before, which in turn makes the arrangements seem more detailed, developing Washed Out’s sound. And another small detail, that has made his music sound even more enjoyable, is the slight taste of psychedelia which gives Paracosm a bit of pleasant weirdness. The feeling I was left with after listening to it was as if his previous records have been toned in sepia or portrayed in the colours of a Polaroid (matching Washed Out’s visual image at the time), while Paracosm reveals Washed Out in it’s full splendour And I’m not only saying it because of the colourful video that accompanied Don’t Give Up.

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This content was originally published in Latvian in the August’s Albums of the Month feature at eRoks.lv.

Anna Calvi – Eliza

The world is full of great musicians, but, from time to time, someone appears that seems somewhat more unique than the others. One of the artists that I would add to this category is the charming British singer-songwriter Anna Calvi, who mostly stands out because of her voice. In a time when there’s no shortage of different female divas, Calvi’s low and powerful voice distinguishes her from the others. If you add in a great songwriting talent and the ability to include a wide spectre of emotion in her music, the end result is something that definitely deserves a great deal of attention and admiration. She already proved it with her first album (not everyone gets nominated for a Mercury award), and she will try to secure her reputation with her sophomore album One Breath, which will be released this autumn. Similarly to the strongest moments of her debut, it’s first single Eliza has the ability to completely swipe the listener away with the song. At the moment when the track reaches it’s peak, it feels like her voice grabs you by your *ahem* hand and doesn’t let it go. And if that’s not a demonstration of the power of music, I don’t know what is.

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This content was originally published in Latvian in the weekly Tracks To Hear This Week feature at eRoks.lv.

Los Campesinos! — What Death Leaves Behind

It hasn’t even been two years since the release of their fourth album Hello Sadness, but the witty Welshmen (and women) of Los Campesinos! have returned this week with a new track, as well as an announcement of a new album. Although they have experienced some line-up changes since their last record (which is actually relatively normal for this band), it’s not like anything has radically changed in their music, making them unrecognisable. What Death Leaves Behind sounds quite typical for a Los Campesinos! song, including the amusing lyrics that we’re used to hear from them. As always, the lyrics are full with colourful quotes, but quite hard to decipher. I perceived it as making analogies between death and love (while throwing a few football references in the middle as well), but I can’t be sure that I’ve hit the bullseye with that. However, the most important thing here is not finding the meaning of the song’s lyrics, but the fact that, even after four albums and quite a few line-up changes, Los Campesinos! are still as exciting as they were in the very beginning of their journey.

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This content was originally published in Latvian in the weekly Tracks To Hear This Week feature at eRoks.lv.