Best of Year 2019
It’s finally here. Only had to wait half a year. What we said about this several months ago still stands - you’d be forgiven for missing this one, as Liz Harris’ (of Grouper fame) latest project has been strangely underplayed, to such an extent it’s only now getting a properly distributed physical release via W. 25th (as opposed to her usual home at Kranky, also strange). And what makes this even stranger is the album itself is an absolute gem. Four tracks of occasionally blissful, often foreboding static and drone that stretches to just under an hour and sounds a lot more ‘live’ than studio to me. After Harris’ last Grouper record of minimal piano-and-vocal-led chamber song, this is an interesting (and much welcome, despite Grid of Points being great) return to the more heavy weather concerns of her earlier work albeit with a newly discovered sense of grace that was best explored on GoP. I recall listening to this five times in a row on a particularly choppy long haul night flight and it did a sterling job in keeping the anxiety at bay. Medicine for the disturbed spirit. We could all do with a little more of that right now. Double LP affair. V. deluxe
