| Daughter — If You Leave (2013) |
Daughter — If You Leave
Location: London, UK
Album release: April 30, 2013
Record Label: 4AD/Glass Note
Duration: 45:42
Tracks:
01. Winter 4:43
02. Smother 4:02
03. Youth 4:13
04. Still 3:33
05. Lifeforms 5:35
06. Tomorrow 4:41
07. Human 3:32
08. Touch 4:26
09. Amsterdam 4:03
10. Shallows 6:54
BBC Review:
A damaged debut, the way the hues of its bruises blend proving wholly hypnotic.
• Mike Diver 2013-03-07
• Something about roses and thorns, of surface beauty masking elements more menacing. Search online a little and this is a common tact when addressing the music of London-based trio Daughter.
• And with good reason: theirs is a sound instantly enchanting of design. But the somewhat quaint, almost-folk arrangements and Elena Tonra’s vocals – as gorgeously direct and detailed as a Matisse, complete with age-impressed cracks spider-webbing the canvas – sit atop an emotional turbulence that many would restrict to locked-tight diary pages.
• Music has long been a method of catharsis, of course. But spend a few hours in the company of If You Leave and the effect is draining.
• Not in a negative sense – the repeat plays logged by this writer are testament to this album’s longevity. But expect to feel almost as broken as the protagonist behind these songs’ narratives come set-closer Shallows.
• Tonra doesn’t shy away from summoning deep-rooted sermons on the subject of love – most notably the aftermath of its collapse, and subsequent feelings of isolation. It’s all the listener can do to not hunt down the culprit behind her splintered heart and demand answers, such are the singer’s devastatingly succinct illustrations of romantic fallout.
• “I’ve lost it all, I’m just a silhouette / I’m a lifeless face that you’ll soon forget,” is one such moment, a snapshot from Youth. Tomorrow further distances the separation by actually articulating it more intimately: “By tomorrow I’ll be left in the darkness / Amongst your cold sheets.” It’s genuinely powerful, moving stuff.
• Something more sinister than relationships gone awry stirs elsewhere. “Find the children lost at sea,” Tonra sings on Lifeforms, “Find the children who discreetly / Were killed in infancy.”
• Such lines bring to mind Scandinavian mythology, specifically the legend of mylings. They connect Daughter’s music, albeit in an abstract fashion, with the more arcane strands of folk that came before them.
• Daughter’s generally gentle arrangements, rarely roused from a whisper to a roar – Winter features some pounding percussion; the layered, choral vocals of Smother are gorgeous – are therefore rather more engaging than many a peer’s offerings.
• If You Leave is a damaged debut, then, but the way the hues of its bruises blend into each other is wholly hypnotic. It wants to love, again, but has chosen darkness.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Editorial Reviews
• 2013 debut album from the Indie trio. Recorded over a period of months at home and in various spaces around London, it was produced by guitarist Igor Haefeli with additional production from Rodhaidh McDonald (The xx, Adele) and Jolyon Vaughan Thomas, and mixed by Ken Thomas (Sigur Ros, M83) at High Bank Studios. Daughter are a London-based trio consisting of:
• Elena Tonra (vocals, guitar)
• Igor Haefeli (guitar)
• Remi Aguilella (drums, percussion)
• The band started life in 2010 as an outlet for Elena's musings. After recording a demos EP, Elena joined forces with Igor, then fellow classmates studying music at college. A four-track EP, His Young Heart, was self released in April 2011, and with Remi completing the line up soon after, The Wild Youth EP was released in late 2011. On the strength of these releases alone they have gained a loyal fanbase which continues to grow as public and media alike discover their charms.
© Daughter (band) - Remi Aguilella, Elena Tonra, Igor Haefeli (L to R) - Heartbreaker Banquet during South by Southwest 2012 at Willie Nelson's ranch (Luck, TX). Photo by Ron Baker.
Date: 15 March 2012, 19:31:17
Author: Ron Baker http://www.flickr.com/photos/kingsnake
Description:
• If You Leave was recorded over a period of months at home and in various spaces across London by Daughter trio Elena Tonra, Igor Haefeli and Remi Aguilella. Production was overseen by Igor with additional production from Rodaidh McDonald (The xx, Adele) and Jolyon Vaughan Thomas (Maps), and mixed by Ken Thomas (Sigur Ros, M83) at High Bank Studio and mastered by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road Studios.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
4AD description:
• Daughter is a London-based trio consisting of Elena Tonra (vocals, guitar), Igor Haefeli (guitar) and Remi Aguilella (percussion). Daughter started life in 2010 as an outlet for Elena’s musings. After recording a ‘Demos EP’, Elena joined forces with Igor, then fellow classmates studying music at college. A four-track EP, His Young Heart, was self-released in April 2011, and with Remi completing the line-up soon after, The Wild Youth EP was released in late-2011. On the strength of these releases alone they have gained a loyal fanbase, which continues to grow as public and media alike discover their charms. With tickets for Daughter’s first major UK tour long sold out and recent single ‘Smother’ playlisted at Radio 1, 6Music and XFM, it’s clear this is a band whose star is on the ascent.
• If You Leave is Daughter’s debut album. Recorded over a period of months at home and in various spaces around London, it was produced by Igor with additional production from Rodhaidh McDonald (The xx, Adele) and Jolyon Vaughan Thomas, and mixed by Ken Thomas (Sigur Ros, M83) at High Bank Studios.
• Less of a statement of intent, these songs are more a snapshot of a year in Daughter’s short life. Lyrically, Elena plumbs the depths of her psyche to reveal her innermost thoughts, finding catharsis in expounding those internal demons. There may be little light relief here, but the personal themes have universal appeal; tales of doubt, insecurity, fear, anger and loneliness all take centre stage. Musically, Daughter balance an intricate interplay between vocal, guitar and rhythm section. Elena’s vocals are fractured, often delivering savage words with a smoke-tinged whisper. Igor wrestles his guitar to build up a stark and brutal landscape, colliding with Elena’s more structured rhythm guitar. All are punctuated by the jolts of Remi’s minimalist drums.
If You Leave is a bold first move for an act still in its infancy, and yet the songwriting displays a maturity that belies their youth. Darkness may prevail on If You Leave, but the future looks extremely bright for Elena, Igor and Remi.
Press quotes:
• "Heavy it most certainly is, but Daughter succeed simply by creating phenomenally beautiful music and heart-rending songs. If You Leave is one of the most stunning, and emotionally captivating records you’ll ever hear." Music OMH (5/5)
• "An album as beautifully conceived as If You Leave is one you follow from start to finish, riveted by the story it weaves and the emotion it bleeds. And in these digital days that feels like a remarkable achievement" Drowned In Sound said in their 9/10 review, while The Fly in a 4/5 album review said that it's "word-in-the-ear intimate and mountain-range massive."
Also:
• May 1, 2013 by Kim Phelps (Editor rating: 4 / 5 stars), see
Link: http://mimo.recordingconnection.com/
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
• Taking place this November, Daughter will follow up their largest UK tour to date with an extensive tour of Europe.
All shows are listed below. Tickets go on sale in the next few days.
November
3rd – Gloria, Köln, Germany
4th – Doornroosje, Nijmegen, Netherlands
5th – AB, Brussels, Belgium
7th – Uebel & Gefahrlich, Hamburg, Germany
8th – Vega, Copenhagen, Denmark
9th – Strand, Stockholm, Sweden
11th – Postbahnhof, Berlin, Germany
12th – Rock Café, Prague, Czech Republic
13th – Freiheiz, Munich, Germany
15th – Covo, Bologna, Italy
16th – Fri-Son, Fribourg, Switzerland
17th – Den Atelier, Luxembourg
18th – Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• The summer is set to be just as busy for Elena, Igor and Remi as they head out on the festival circuit, beginning next week with appearances at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound and London’s Field Day festivals (at the latter Daughter will play the Laneway stage at 7.30pm). The London-based trio will also head back out to North America to open for fellow 4AD act The National in August.
• For a full list of forthcoming dates and ticket information, head to www.ohdaughter.com/daughter-live
Studio albums:
• If You Leave (4AD, 2013)
Extended plays:
• Demos EP (Self-Released, 2010)
• His Young Heart EP (Self-Released, 2011)
• The Wild Youth EP (Communion, 2011)
Singles:
• Smother (4AD, 2012)
• Human (4AD, 2013)
| Daughter — If You Leave (2013) |
Daughter — If You Leave
© Daughter (band) - Remi Aguilella, Elena Tonra, Igor Haefeli (L to R) - Heartbreaker Banquet during South by Southwest 2012 at Willie Nelson's ranch (Luck, TX). Photo by Ron Baker.
Location: London, UK
Album release: April 30, 2013
Record Label: 4AD/Glass Note
Duration: 45:42
Tracks:
01. Winter 4:43
02. Smother 4:02
03. Youth 4:13
04. Still 3:33
05. Lifeforms 5:35
06. Tomorrow 4:41
07. Human 3:32
08. Touch 4:26
09. Amsterdam 4:03
10. Shallows 6:54
BBC Review:
A damaged debut, the way the hues of its bruises blend proving wholly hypnotic.
• Mike Diver 2013-03-07
• Something about roses and thorns, of surface beauty masking elements more menacing. Search online a little and this is a common tact when addressing the music of London-based trio Daughter.
• And with good reason: theirs is a sound instantly enchanting of design. But the somewhat quaint, almost-folk arrangements and Elena Tonra’s vocals – as gorgeously direct and detailed as a Matisse, complete with age-impressed cracks spider-webbing the canvas – sit atop an emotional turbulence that many would restrict to locked-tight diary pages.
• Music has long been a method of catharsis, of course. But spend a few hours in the company of If You Leave and the effect is draining.
• Not in a negative sense – the repeat plays logged by this writer are testament to this album’s longevity. But expect to feel almost as broken as the protagonist behind these songs’ narratives come set-closer Shallows.
• Tonra doesn’t shy away from summoning deep-rooted sermons on the subject of love – most notably the aftermath of its collapse, and subsequent feelings of isolation. It’s all the listener can do to not hunt down the culprit behind her splintered heart and demand answers, such are the singer’s devastatingly succinct illustrations of romantic fallout.
• “I’ve lost it all, I’m just a silhouette / I’m a lifeless face that you’ll soon forget,” is one such moment, a snapshot from Youth. Tomorrow further distances the separation by actually articulating it more intimately: “By tomorrow I’ll be left in the darkness / Amongst your cold sheets.” It’s genuinely powerful, moving stuff.
• Something more sinister than relationships gone awry stirs elsewhere. “Find the children lost at sea,” Tonra sings on Lifeforms, “Find the children who discreetly / Were killed in infancy.”
• Such lines bring to mind Scandinavian mythology, specifically the legend of mylings. They connect Daughter’s music, albeit in an abstract fashion, with the more arcane strands of folk that came before them.
• Daughter’s generally gentle arrangements, rarely roused from a whisper to a roar – Winter features some pounding percussion; the layered, choral vocals of Smother are gorgeous – are therefore rather more engaging than many a peer’s offerings.
• If You Leave is a damaged debut, then, but the way the hues of its bruises blend into each other is wholly hypnotic. It wants to love, again, but has chosen darkness.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
Editorial Reviews
• 2013 debut album from the Indie trio. Recorded over a period of months at home and in various spaces around London, it was produced by guitarist Igor Haefeli with additional production from Rodhaidh McDonald (The xx, Adele) and Jolyon Vaughan Thomas, and mixed by Ken Thomas (Sigur Ros, M83) at High Bank Studios. Daughter are a London-based trio consisting of:
• Elena Tonra (vocals, guitar)
• Igor Haefeli (guitar)
• Remi Aguilella (drums, percussion)
• The band started life in 2010 as an outlet for Elena's musings. After recording a demos EP, Elena joined forces with Igor, then fellow classmates studying music at college. A four-track EP, His Young Heart, was self released in April 2011, and with Remi completing the line up soon after, The Wild Youth EP was released in late 2011. On the strength of these releases alone they have gained a loyal fanbase which continues to grow as public and media alike discover their charms.
Date: 15 March 2012, 19:31:17
Author: Ron Baker http://www.flickr.com/photos/kingsnake
Description:
• If You Leave was recorded over a period of months at home and in various spaces across London by Daughter trio Elena Tonra, Igor Haefeli and Remi Aguilella. Production was overseen by Igor with additional production from Rodaidh McDonald (The xx, Adele) and Jolyon Vaughan Thomas (Maps), and mixed by Ken Thomas (Sigur Ros, M83) at High Bank Studio and mastered by Geoff Pesche at Abbey Road Studios.
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
4AD description:
• Daughter is a London-based trio consisting of Elena Tonra (vocals, guitar), Igor Haefeli (guitar) and Remi Aguilella (percussion). Daughter started life in 2010 as an outlet for Elena’s musings. After recording a ‘Demos EP’, Elena joined forces with Igor, then fellow classmates studying music at college. A four-track EP, His Young Heart, was self-released in April 2011, and with Remi completing the line-up soon after, The Wild Youth EP was released in late-2011. On the strength of these releases alone they have gained a loyal fanbase, which continues to grow as public and media alike discover their charms. With tickets for Daughter’s first major UK tour long sold out and recent single ‘Smother’ playlisted at Radio 1, 6Music and XFM, it’s clear this is a band whose star is on the ascent.
• If You Leave is Daughter’s debut album. Recorded over a period of months at home and in various spaces around London, it was produced by Igor with additional production from Rodhaidh McDonald (The xx, Adele) and Jolyon Vaughan Thomas, and mixed by Ken Thomas (Sigur Ros, M83) at High Bank Studios.
• Less of a statement of intent, these songs are more a snapshot of a year in Daughter’s short life. Lyrically, Elena plumbs the depths of her psyche to reveal her innermost thoughts, finding catharsis in expounding those internal demons. There may be little light relief here, but the personal themes have universal appeal; tales of doubt, insecurity, fear, anger and loneliness all take centre stage. Musically, Daughter balance an intricate interplay between vocal, guitar and rhythm section. Elena’s vocals are fractured, often delivering savage words with a smoke-tinged whisper. Igor wrestles his guitar to build up a stark and brutal landscape, colliding with Elena’s more structured rhythm guitar. All are punctuated by the jolts of Remi’s minimalist drums.
If You Leave is a bold first move for an act still in its infancy, and yet the songwriting displays a maturity that belies their youth. Darkness may prevail on If You Leave, but the future looks extremely bright for Elena, Igor and Remi.
Press quotes:
• "Heavy it most certainly is, but Daughter succeed simply by creating phenomenally beautiful music and heart-rending songs. If You Leave is one of the most stunning, and emotionally captivating records you’ll ever hear." Music OMH (5/5)
• "An album as beautifully conceived as If You Leave is one you follow from start to finish, riveted by the story it weaves and the emotion it bleeds. And in these digital days that feels like a remarkable achievement" Drowned In Sound said in their 9/10 review, while The Fly in a 4/5 album review said that it's "word-in-the-ear intimate and mountain-range massive."
Also:
• May 1, 2013 by Kim Phelps (Editor rating: 4 / 5 stars), see
Link: http://mimo.recordingconnection.com/
:::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::
• Taking place this November, Daughter will follow up their largest UK tour to date with an extensive tour of Europe.
All shows are listed below. Tickets go on sale in the next few days.
November
3rd – Gloria, Köln, Germany
4th – Doornroosje, Nijmegen, Netherlands
5th – AB, Brussels, Belgium
7th – Uebel & Gefahrlich, Hamburg, Germany
8th – Vega, Copenhagen, Denmark
9th – Strand, Stockholm, Sweden
11th – Postbahnhof, Berlin, Germany
12th – Rock Café, Prague, Czech Republic
13th – Freiheiz, Munich, Germany
15th – Covo, Bologna, Italy
16th – Fri-Son, Fribourg, Switzerland
17th – Den Atelier, Luxembourg
18th – Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands
• The summer is set to be just as busy for Elena, Igor and Remi as they head out on the festival circuit, beginning next week with appearances at Barcelona’s Primavera Sound and London’s Field Day festivals (at the latter Daughter will play the Laneway stage at 7.30pm). The London-based trio will also head back out to North America to open for fellow 4AD act The National in August.
• For a full list of forthcoming dates and ticket information, head to www.ohdaughter.com/daughter-live
Studio albums:
• If You Leave (4AD, 2013)
Extended plays:
• Demos EP (Self-Released, 2010)
• His Young Heart EP (Self-Released, 2011)
• The Wild Youth EP (Communion, 2011)
Singles:
• Smother (4AD, 2012)
• Human (4AD, 2013)