-=- SHGZ -=-
* Shoegaze * Indie * Post-Rock * Grunge * Dream Pop * Psych-Rock * Ethereal *
ARTIST..: Sun's Signature
ALBUM...: Sun's Signature (Extended)
GENRE...: Indie
STYLE...: Dream Pop, Art Rock, Baroque Pop, Art Pop, Chamber Folk
STYLE...: Neo-Psychedelia, Progressive Folk, Ethereal Wave
YEAR....: 2023
LABEL...: Partisan
COUNTRY.: United Kingdom
PLACE...: Bristol, City of Bristol
ENCODER.: LAME 3.100 -V0
BITRATE.: 252 kbps avg
QUALITY.: 44.1kHz / Joint Stereo
SOURCE..: CDEP
TRACKS..: 11
SIZE....: 112.76 MB
URL..: https://www.facebook.com/elizabethfraserofficial
https://sunssignature.bandcamp.com/album/suns-signature
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_Fraser
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damon_Reece
https://www.silentradio.co.uk/08/21/album-review-suns-signature-suns-signature-extended
- TRACKLIST
Disc 1
------
1 Underwater 6:46
2 Golden Air 5:42
3 Bluedusk 5:00
4 Apples 7:27
5 Make Lovely The Day 2:31
Disc 2
------
1 Underwater (Hinako Omori Remix) 6:29
2 Golden Air (Gwenno Remix) 4:22
3 Apples (Will Gregory Remix) 5:25
4 Bluedusk (LUMP Remix) 4:36
5 Golden Air (CUTS Remix) 6:17
6 Apples (John Grant Remix) 7:40
Total Playtime: 62:15
Sun's Signature is the current project from vocalist Elizabeth Fraser and
percussionist Damon Reece.
*
It's just five tracks, barely half an hour of music, but worth the wait in
gold. ... Particularly on the radiant "Make Lovely The Day", where she's
accompanied simply by Steve Hackett's fluttering acoustic guitar, it's like
hearing the greatest British singer of her generation for the very first time
*
The Cocteau Twins' Elizabeth Fraser and Massive Attack's Damon Reece deliver
a sensual five-track EP that is destined to go the distance
At roughly half an hour's running time, the return of Elizabeth Fraser is an
EP with all the heft of an album. Fraser's gaseous soprano arrived fully
formed in the 80s as part of the Cocteau Twins. Since then, she has lent her
instantly recognisable instrument most famously to Massive Attack - her
partner in life as well as in Sun's Signature, Damon Reece, played drums for
them - but hasn't released a body of work of her own.
As you would hope, Sun's Signature sounds like little else around. The pair
fuse chamber music and trip hop, film soundtracks and Spanish guitar,
dulcimers and vibraphones. Taking the natural world as inspiration - water
and air get name-checks, birdsong is interpolated, Sun's Signature refers to
"the fulfilment of a flower" - this is an EP to fall into, as though in a
swoon, its fine detail revealing itself over time. The
seven-and-a-half-minute centrepiece, Apples, finds Fraser trilling at her
most obviously Cocteau-y: offset by cloud-like production, the delicacy of
her voice is undiminished by underuse. By contrast, Make Lovely the Day
features a close-miked and crystalline Fraser accompanied only by guitar.
These tracks began life at London's Meltdown festival a decade ago; with no
current plans to tour or record, this EP is going to have to last. It's up to
that challenge.
*
In the quarter century since the Cocteau Twins broke up, Elizabeth Fraser's
career has resembled that of an athlete whose natural talent throws off their
decision-making. Fraser's voice, a heavenly glissando swoop that could charm
a butterfly from its chrysalis, is so exquisite that her irregular guest
appearances (notably on Massive Attack's "Teardrop") and one-off songs have
rarely disappointed. But her solo work has lacked focus, with no definitive
statement to lift her out of the Cocteau Twins' lengthy shadow. Sun's
Signature, an eponymous five-track EP from Fraser's duo with percussionist
and romantic partner Damon Reece, is her most substantial undertaking since
the Cocteau Twins. It proves worth the wait: a display of rarefied skill
scaled to surprisingly human proportions.
The origins of Sun's Signature lie in the ANOHNI-curated London Meltdown
Festival in 2012, where Fraser and Reece debuted embryonic versions of four
of the five songs on the EP. ("Underwater," the trip-hop-adjacent and
slightly pat opening track, was originally released in 2000 as a Fraser solo
single, although the Sun's Signature version has been fleshed out with new
elements, remixed, and remastered). Over the following decade, the
perfectionist duo painstakingly worked up their material, re-editing and
refining every element to create a work of incredibly rich-and often
unexpected-detail. Reece cites Bernard Herrmann and John Barry's soundtracks
as inspiration for Sun's Signature's intricate sound, and there is a
widescreen element to the duo's music, which takes in vibraphone, mellotron,
Moog, cimbalom, and more, sounding in places almost like Moon Safari.
Added to this is a healthy and rather unexpected dose of prog rock, with
former Genesis member Steve Hackett providing crackling sustained guitar to
"Underwater" and standout "Golden Air"; his work sets psychedelic fire to
"Golden Air" like John Lennon and George Harrison's overdriven solos on the
Beatles' "It's All Too Much." Hackett also contributes Spanish guitar to the
beatific closing track "Make Lovely the Day," while Reece opts for some
interesting percussive choices. "Bluedusk" starts with stately timpani, and a
rolling, millipede-like tom-tom line on "Golden Air" adds an unexpected
rhythmic twist.
The result-the underwhelming "Underwater" aside-is an atypical and richly
baroque musical bed that is, finally, worthy of Fraser's singular talent. The
Scottish singer's voice is so richly alluring that it can feel like a cheat
code for producers, a way of bolting ready-made elegance to any structure,
from Oneohtrix Point Never's collapsing electronics to Sam Lee's orchestral
folk. But Reece's sparkling productions feel specifically tailored to her
voice, which finds its reflection in the swoon of a Moog or the gentle touch
of an acoustic guitar, music and voice amplifying each other's considerable
charms.
Fraser is in predictably fine form. Her voice has matured considerably from
the slightly jagged tones of her Cocteau Twins debut, when the band sailed
close to punk rock and goth; here, she lands on a tone that is higher,
fuller, and more recognizably human in register. Her lyrics, often
indecipherable at the Cocteau Twins' peak, are recognizable and even
relatable on Sun's Signature, speaking of love, nature, and the passing of
the seasons. To write the lyrics, Fraser made collages of words borrowed from
various literary sources, which might explain esoteric phrases like "Sing-ho,
Oriole/Tretemolo, Empemblon/Skyliblong" (from "Apples"). But other
lines-"Summer is gone/The autumn of my life"; "Daughter, I kiss you/Always
hold you"; "See him rise and make lovely the day"-suggest profound and poetic
universal truths. This combination of personable voice, discernible lyrics,
and grown-up themes suffuses the EP in a warm maturity that Cocteau Twins
fans will recognize from the band's penultimate album, Four-Calendar Caf ,
although Sun's Signature take a more adventurous approach than Cocteau Twins
did on their excellent, if rather meat-and-potatoes, major-label debut.
The crowning glory of Sun's Signature is the songwriting, a skill that was
often eclipsed by Cocteau Twins' impeccable sonics. The vocal melodies of
"Golden Air" and "Apples," in particular, tumble with acrobatic grace, while
the duo's off-center arrangements explore unpredictable peaks and troughs.
When the two combine, as on the rapturous climax of "Golden Air," the result
is ecstatic.
Comparisons to the Cocteau Twins are inevitable. But whereas Fraser's iconic
group brought an otherworldly, almost incomprehensible beauty to much of
their music, Sun's Signature's charm is surprisingly empathetic. It feels
hospitable and lived in, binding earthly emotion with musical grace. That's
not to say the album is humdrum or common: Fraser's voice remains an
extraordinary instrument, while the production is impressively diverse. But
this is the mortal magic of a smile as opposed to the astral wonder of the
stars: Sun's Signature is among Fraser's most illuminating and eloquent music
to date, the work of a flesh-and-blood person rather than the chimerical
Cocteau Twin of myth.
*
It's a rarity to find new music featuring the beautiful voice of Elizabeth
Fraser. So when her collaboration with life and musical partner,
percussionist Damon Reece, under the name Sun's Signature was announced, I
was all ears. As vocalist in the sublime Cocteau Twins, as well as her
memorable contribution to Massive Attack's Mezzanine album, Elizabeth has
kept largely away from significant recorded output. Though unbeknown to me,
there have been some intermittent collaborations over the years. Here's an
extended play, also entitled Sun's Signature, to placate my hunger for some
new sounds from one of the world's finest singers.
As for Damon, his musical heritage involves drumming with Massive Attack,
Spiritualized, Echo and the Bunnymen and working with Baxter Dury, Goldfrapp,
The Flies and Nigel Kennedy. He clearly has a talent for sound as he has
taken charge of engineering duties for most of this EP. Damon admits that in
order to create this body of work "We had to go down many, many different
avenues to find what we were looking for". An early performance from the
pair, paving the way for the creation of Sun's Signature, was at the Meltdown
Festival as far back as 2012. Fellow Spiritualized band member, keyboardist
Thighpaulsandra, assisted in helping Elizabeth to be "shitting kittens at the
prospect of making an audience sit through ten songs they had never heard
before". Some of those songs have now found their way onto this EP, after
that performance encouraged the pair to expand on their embryonic forms.
In creating this incredible music, Elizabeth was cautious not to be
influenced by other artists, "...I'm concerned that they may exercise undue
influence over me", and it took a lot of discipline to ensure the originality
of the music. To say they succeeded in this strategy would be quite the
understatement. As I explore further the actual songs themselves, forgive my
ignorance in being able to decipher which of the extravagant range of
instruments utilised (vibraphone, celeste, cimbalom, dulcimer, bass
clarinets, sustainer guitars, synthesisers) are making the various sounds.
It's also vital to point out that Elizabeth's voice now exists largely in a
higher register, the deeper snarl she could descend to, of yesteryear, now
confined to history.
Completing the line-up of stellar musicians for the Sun's Signature project,
you will find Steve Hackett (guitar), Sean Cook (bass), Martin Shellard
(guitar) and Alex Lee (guitar). Mixing duties were completed by award winning
soundtrack producer Bob Locke and Thighpaulsandra and just for good measure,
the alliance with Massive Attack is furthered as Robert Del Naja provides the
artwork.
So to the music after all that build-up. The intro to opening track
'Underwater' is like some warped fusion of Tim Burton and Walt Disney. Taking
a while to grind into full swing, once the drums and poppy bass drop,
Elizabeth rolls back the years with effortless ease. I should have realised
the task of trying to convey what Elizabeth Fraser's vocals are like with
words, is something that this mere mortal would struggle with. As she weaves
miraculously around her own voice multi-tracked, it's truly a beautiful
sound. The multitude of brilliant musicians do a tremendous job of laying out
a blissful territory for Elizabeth to explore and the whole thing sounds
marvellously, well, fluid, which is quite apt.
'Golden Air' makes you feel like you are skipping through an enchanted forest
where fairies and mythical creatures go about their daily magical chores. I
can't think of anyone else capable of making this kind of music and certainly
Elizabeth Fraser stands alone with her beguiling and utterly unique tones.
She still sings gloriously and still leaves the listener with absolutely no
idea what she's singing. When the track erupts into full flight it recalls
prime Cocteau Twins as guitars swirl and the bass rolls and glides with
pristine production.
Elizabeth's voice is so encapsulating and still has the same incredible
ability to swoop and soar, it's a shame we don't get to hear it more often.
So that's what makes this outing such a treasure, 'Bluedusk' is bursting with
twinkles and spectacular instrumentation to create an otherworldly soundscape
for Elizabeth to shimmer through. The song is pure grace and I'm sure to hear
this in a live setting would be just transcendent, though that's not likely
to be happening given the artist's desire to maintain a low profile.
At this stage I'm running out of superlatives to describe the music, the
spellbinding 'Apples' is lavish and luxurious with a host of sweet voices,
flickering twinkles and delicate guitars. Having said that, I find myself
incapable of really enjoying this, unless I am really in the mood for it.
It's bizarrely as extreme as some of the noisier music I reach for at times
because it is so sparse and lightweight. Closing song 'Make Lovely The Day'
combines only acoustic guitar with Elizabeth's pure voice, though the
extravagant flourishes that feature on the other tracks leave this song sound
a little empty and naked.
Initially drawn to listen to this EP with the obvious draw of Elizabeth
Frazer and the inclusion of ex members of long-time favourites Spiritualized,
I had no idea what it would sound like. The stronger swing here definitely is
more in favour of latter-day Cocteau Twins, as opposed to the super charged
drone rock of Spiritualized. Having said that, the musical dexterity on offer
is clearly indebted to another perfectionist, Jason Pearce, as these
musicians will be more than familiar with layering up sounds to impossible
levels of magical creativity. The overall sound of Sun's Signature is truly
unique and unlike anything else I have ever heard. It's hard to put into
words the sheer brilliance of where this music takes you. A long time in the
making, Sun's Signature is a glorious and magical collection of songs
bursting with mesmerising detail and enchanting sounds.
*
Sun's Signature are Elizabeth Fraser and Damon Reece, and together they
create serene, wistful and mesmeric music. Fraser is obviously most
well-known for her otherworldly vocal talents in Cocteau Twins, while Reece
has been a member of Spiritualized, Echo and the Bunnymen and Massive Attack
at various points. They are also a couple, though this fact has no real
bearing on the resultant music - other than the majesty and downright
beautiful sounds they create suggests they are blissfully in tune with one
another.
All of the tracks on this eponymous EP refer to nature to some degree, and
this music has been nurtured and cultivated over years until the duo felt all
of the parts had ripened - never let it be said that Fraser rushes things.
ANOHNI's Meltdown Festival in 2012 saw the live debut of the band and all of
the songs they played then, albeit in embryonic form, appear here in recorded
form. Those seeking a Cocteau Twins style of musical immersion will be
disappointed as the tracks here are more cerebral than sensual, complicated
musical motifs, textures and melodies replacing her former band's glacial
feel.
"Underwater" mingles jewellery box style melodies, swirling noises, and
lyrics such as "The opening of a window onto rapture / Find the world shining
in me". These elements combine to offer a life affirming yet melancholic air.
All of the tracks here work best when you try to push Fraser's voice to the
back of your focus - that's not to say that her vocal performances aren't
exceptional (and also why most people are listening in the first place), yet
with a voice as seminal as hers it's sometimes difficult to centre your
attention on the instrumentation.
Failure to do so does it a disservice. There is a subtlety to the playing
that's gorgeously understated, and a complexity to some of the sounds that
highlight the hooks going on beneath Fraser's vocal gymnastics. The hesitant
bass line on "Golden Hair" has an air of Spacemen 3 about it, while the
orchestration and arrangement on "Bluedusk" brings to mind Angela Morley's
seminal work with Scott Walker in the late 60s. There's a lot going on here
that gets unpicked and noticed the more you repeat the listening experience.
"Apples" sees Fraser at her ethereal best, with vocal lines interweaving with
barely discernible counter-melodies that create a ghostly atmosphere. The
words aren't all that easy to make out, but this is a performer who made
perfect sense from senseless murmurings in her former band, and you get the
feeling that she could sing a recipe for toast in Esperanto and make it
utterly alluring. The vocal trills and double-layered vocal lines sound like
chamber music, while an acoustic guitar goes about its merry business in the
background. The music is fairly bog standard indie meets neo-classical
affair, but with Fraser's voice ebbing this way and flowing that it's a song
that elevates itself above the mundane that it acknowledges in its aural
palette. While the music binds things, the vocals soar far above, the two
components of the track seemingly perfectly suited yet still disparate. You
can make out snippets of vocals that harken back to Cocteau Twins' style and
themes as Fraser half-sings and half-whispers about cherry trees and blossom,
yet her voice is now more comfortable in the higher vocal register which only
adds to the spectral quality of her performance.
"Make Lovely the Day" has a childlike quality to it. Fraser's vocal is
playful and innocent sounding, while the sprightly acoustic guitar underpins
a sense of simple joy and fun. There's an echo of Vashti Bunyan on this track
and this is really the only time on the record that you hear an echo of
another musician present, which is quite a feat in itself. It's a lovely way
to finish the EP, as Fraser sings you a lullaby of positivity that soothes,
even though the one complaint is that the song's run time of two and a half
minutes isn't long enough.
Sun's Signature is a wonderful record whose core themes of hope, splendour
and faith in nature are something we could all do with right about now.
*
I've often wondered if and when we would see Elizabeth Fraser back leading a
musical endeavour again. She's been guest vocalist on quite a few excellent
songs over the last few years but now she is back. Teaming up with her life
and musical partner Damon Reece, who provides a whole cataclysm of
percussion, the duo have created Sun's Signature. The best way I can describe
their sound is rock in full vivid celestial colour. Bright, beautiful, alive
and constantly shape-shifting. There is more personality and originality in
this EP than some bands put out in a decade.
Each song has a very different feel. "Underwater" is the most straightforward
rock number. It has plenty of big guitar chords and quirky solos. The
difference here is it's set to a Lamb-esque trip-hop beat. Add in some quirky
mellotron, sludgy guitar/string hybrids and some wistfully beautiful vocals
and you have something special. It is the song that steadies the ship as it's
the most direct piece. Flip to "Golden Air" and here Damon Reece is in his
element. Offkilter percussive loops, unusual instrumentation and distorting
Elizabeth's vocals into a pulsating synth in its own right are inspired
moves. Then the track gloriously explodes for its choruses into a chrysalis
of rock. Its epic conclusion brings in epic riffs, huge drums, bright and
bold synths and clarity of music Elizabeth Fraser has rarely offered us
before.
Totally switching gears is the exoctica-drenched "Bluedusk". Here timpani
spell out the waltzing beat before harp and guitar glissandos, hazy string
bustles and dew drop plinks of tuned percussion ring out. It is a heavenly
and magical track that is unlike anything else on the EP and it is bursting
full of life. Elizabeth's voice softly sings in a low register early on but
she still hits her dizzying octaves like a cooing bird with ease. Even more
shocking, you can relate to her usually abstract lyrics or Idioglossia.
"Apples" fuses together ethereal chamber music with a chorus of backing
vocals, warm synths, calming guitar solos and a bed of acoustic guitars to
get pillowy with. There are whole sections of curious wonder that remind me a
little of Emiliana Torrini's bewitched folk side. Closing track "Make Lovely
The Day" is a short but beautiful acoustic guitar and vocal finale that feels
like a cinematic folk track for a character left alone in the rain.
Each song has a very different feel. "Underwater" is the most straightforward
rock number. It has plenty of big guitar chords and quirky solos. The
difference here is it's set to a Lamb-esque trip-hop beat. Add in some quirky
mellotron, sludgy guitar/string hybrids and some wistfully beautiful vocals
and you have something special. It is the song that steadies the ship as it's
the most direct piece. Flip to "Golden Air" and here Damon Reece is in his
element. Offkilter percussive loops, unusual instrumentation and distorting
Elizabeth's vocals into a pulsating synth in its own right are inspired
moves. Then the track gloriously explodes for its choruses into a chrysalis
of rock. Its epic conclusion brings in epic riffs, huge drums, bright and
bold synths and clarity of music Elizabeth Fraser has rarely offered us
before.
Totally switching gears is the exoctica-drenched "Bluedusk". Here timpani
spell out the waltzing beat before harp and guitar glissandos, hazy string
bustles and dew drop plinks of tuned percussion ring out. It is a heavenly
and magical track that is unlike anything else on the EP and it is bursting
full of life. Elizabeth's voice softly sings in a low register early on but
she still hits her dizzying octaves like a cooing bird with ease. Even more
shocking, you can relate to her usually abstract lyrics or Idioglossia.
"Apples" fuses together ethereal chamber music with a chorus of backing
vocals, warm synths, calming guitar solos and a bed of acoustic guitars to
get pillowy with. There are whole sections of curious wonder that remind me a
little of Emiliana Torrini's bewitched folk side. Closing track "Make Lovely
The Day" is a short but beautiful acoustic guitar and vocal finale that feels
like a cinematic folk track for a character left alone in the rain.
Whilst it is difficult to pull away from the Cocteau Twins, this feels like a
part mature evolution, part diversification of their sound. Damon Reece adds
a fantastic rhythmic flair and unusual instrumentation that brings in a new
chamber/exotica side to the rock. Elizabeth Fraser's voice is just as
captivating as ever. Sun's Signature is the best thing she has put out since
the Cocteau Twins. Easily. I'm very excited to see where this duo takes it.
-=- SHGZ -=-
-=-=-==-=-=-
Dream Pop
is a subgenre of
alternative rock and neo-psychedelia
that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop
melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions,
and effects such as reverb, echo, tremolo, and chorus. It often
overlaps with the related genre of shoegaze, and the
two genre terms have at times been
used interchangeably.
---==--==---