Feeling reflective after a somewhat draining 2016? Pensive about the year ahead? You’ve just found your soundtrack. Released in hope for 2017, ‘A New Year‘ by LTO follows the release of the truly remarkable The Number From Which All Things Come in 2016. At once mournful and optimistic it perhaps captures the spirit of this darkest time of year, indeed, this slightly worrying moment in recent human history.
Sonorous piano provides the backbone, insistent and dubby percussion orbits around. Hollow-sounding, it’s a lonely groove in some ways. A strangulated vocal sample drifts in and out to rather disorientating effect. A real talent is at work here. Faultless production on an effort that’s both comforting and disturbing at the same time; it’s listless whilst also being rather beautiful.
One to watch in 2017. ‘A New Year‘ shows the Old Apparatus alumnus is equally at home with introspection as on more raucous tracks like ‘Bodhran‘. A reason for optimism indeed for the Bristolian musician. For the rest of us, one to savour whilst observing global events unfold.
