Chicago’s newly-formed Sett Records has announced the release of ‘chandelier’, the third full-length by Minneapolis-based trio autumn, who, in their 20 plus years, have always made a big sound. Ahead of that release and on the trail of their 3-track single ‘the fall’, released in November 2017, the new single ‘Beginnings’ is being previewed.
‘chandelier’ is the band’s new14-song album, produced by William Faith and released on Sett Records. The album, collected from songs written and developed over a 20-year period, displays an impressive range of mood, style and atmosphere, with Neil McKay’s signature guitars laying melody after haunting melody over the top of Jeff Leyda’s solid and nuanced bass, while Julie Plante’s soaring vocals bind the entire work in place with a powerful lyrical narrative of love, loss, hope and resilience.
Kicking it all off is the uplifting ‘beginnings’ with its psych-pop flavored guitars and insistent beat as Plante’s vocals bring us into the moment: “and here is the only place I want to be, we are near to the earth now”. The album’s single ‘the fall’ shines as ever, delivering on the promise of the album it foreshadowed. ‘from under the waves’ brings a shift in mood and style as the band stretch out into minimal electronica, before ‘damage’ draws us back into that moment of dissolution, when two become one: “but now our dream’s come undone, crashing around me, here comes another one, till all the remains is a life in flame, what does it matter who is to blame?”
the piano and voice ‘just before the storm’ is perhaps the album’s most fragile moment, with Plante allowing herself great vulnerability in a tale of loss and moving on. Lyrics “all my progress comes undone with the sway of the pendulum, but my fears remain” provides a testament to picking yourself up and carrying on in ‘shadowgirl 2’, full of classic British alt-rock guitars and the push-and-pull tension of the bass and drums supporting the lyric to great effect;
‘my last confession’ sparkles with another burst of classic synths and retro-drum machine precision. ‘a vow worth keeping’ erupts with powerful rock guitar energy, adding yet another layer of sonic and stylistic depth to the album, before ‘chandelier’ brings us to the album’s close, at its lyrical zenith of gratitude and hope in the words “we’ll shine for all the world a living chandelier”.
TRACK LIST
01 Beginnings
02 The Maiden’s Child
03 The Fall
04 Soulsong
05 At Summer’s End
06 From Under the Waves
07 Damage
08 Just Before the Storm
09 Shadow Girl 2
10 Away
11 White Light
12 My Last Confession
13 A Vow Worth Keeping
14 Chandelier
All songs written by autumn, except “From Under The Waves” (written by Andrew Davies and autumn)
Produced, Recorded & Mixed by William Faith at Zone Zero Studio, Chicago, IL.
