Joining the throngs of "chill-wave" (terrible genre name) that have been propelled by the relative success of The xx, both here and stateside, Foxes In Fiction is slightly more positive in it's output, whilst retaining the dreamy, echo laden production values.
Swung From The Branches is released on Hildebrand's own label, Orchid Tapes which specialises in the release of cassettes.
Clocking in at just over an hour, the album drifts along with the vocals hidden so low and so reverberated that they often just become part of the ethereal music as opposed to offering any message. This however was no problem for Sigur Ros, whose vocals were unintelligible but equally as important to their compositions.
The release is split into two parts, as is to be expected for a cassette based release. The first half is a much more ambient journey with each drack dissolving into the next, lacking direction and certainly not needing any. The second half is more individual pop songs who retain their individuality a little more but still contribute to the overall melancholy of the release.
Foxes In Fiction has a deft touch at manipulating the various dynamics within his programmed drums and synths to indicate the differing sections of his songs and to give the tracks varying levels of intensity and progression. The whole album is littered with looped drums, lo-fi, warping synths and beautifully warm and off-kilter guitar lines, emulating the opposite of feelings, late night insomnia and the swathes of summer day enjoyment.
There is also an excellent and insightful breakdown of each track by Warren himself, including the tales of where and why he wrote the lyrics for each track here.
The best part is the album is available for download free, from here:
No comments:
Post a Comment