I love December releases. They are a gold mine of treasures from bands who don’t care about the optimum release schedule or year end lists or whatever. You can find some true gems here. One such album is the debut from Harp, called Albion. It released on December 1st through Bella Union.
Harp is the solo effort from ex-Midlake vocalist Tim Smith. With him, he brings his wife, Kathi Zung, whom he considers part of the band. Guests include Paul Alexander (Midlake) on bass, and Max Kinghorn-Mills (Hollow Hand) on electric guitar.
I’m honestly overwhelmed with how gorgeous and breathtaking this album is. Through the mists of simple beauty and hushed wonders, Smith has taken pieces of various genres and crafted something exquisite. You’ll notice folk tones and New Wave accessibility and Goth personality, and this is all bound together with a humble knot of subtle fantasy and atonal acoustics. It’s the sort of music that, instead of pushing you to be impressed, revels in the green grass, the nostalgic emotions of life, and darker perspectives.
One of the things I love the most about this album is the purposeful composition. I like how Smith subtly builds melody and anticipation, and you can feel it in your blood that something is about to happen, you can feel it in the whispers and the fog of the music, and then the music breaks with a warm synth line or filtered texture or addictive rhythm. It somehow makes me feel part of the music, like my senses are responding to the composition exactly how Smith hoped. I also like how he uses certain tones and sounds only once on the record; it makes for memorable songs and this strange craving to experience the album over and over again.
Yet, this is a reserved experience. It relishes the green earth, the blueness of the waters, and the mysticism of our stories. It feels faded, like one must reach out and grasp it before it slips through our fingers and is gone. It honors the complexity of human emotion, how good things can sometimes make us feel dark emotions, or how celebrations and happiness can lay the burdens of time and fragility upon us. This album can make you feel beauty and peace and delicious certainty, but somehow also shadows of doubt and waxen ambiguity. It casts a powerful spell, indeed.
I love all twelve tracks. Three of them are pleasing, filtering interludes of sorts, being “The Pleasant Grey”, “Chrystals”, and “Moon”. All three are beautiful and vital parts of the album experience; only “Chrystals” has vocals, and it is so perfect and pristine. In the first half, that leaves four songs. “I Am the Seed” feels sacred and full of vapor; I love the chorus and interesting acoustic guitar musings in the second half. “A Fountain” is one of my favorites for its rhythmic build and its warm synth lines that wash over my mind with such refreshment.
“Daughters of Albion” is another favorite with its steady verses and harmonious chorus that build slowly into an addictive keyboard melody. It happens twice during the song, and you just never want it to stop. “Country Cathedral Drive” ends the first half with a delicious tune that feels faraway and yet close, as well. I love how so much of the song feels faint and on the horizon, but the chimes of melody tend to hit close to home. It’s so beautiful.
The second half has some incredible moments. I like to put “Shining Spires” and “Silver Wings” together in my mind; the former basks in haunting vocals set against fantastical haze, while the latter has a groovy beat and concrete feel. “Seven Long Suns” is another favorite with its casual gait and the hushed build up at the two-minute mark, like taking a careful breath, that spills out into a beautiful, serene melody. It’s the only time you’ll hear it on the album, and it grabs me every time.
The final two pieces are “Throne of Amber” and “Herstmonceux”. The former is probably the most upbeat song on the album, and it feels pastoral as it revels in medieval imagery. The latter closes the album with such a stunning and evocative work. I love the hazy feelings and the discordant keys; it feels strangely warm and inviting, and layered with such human care. It ends the album in a way that makes you want to restart it again.
I know that this Harp debut has been anticipated for many years, and I think Albion is worth the wait. This is a patient album that will soothe your spirit and calm to whispers a room full of people. It possesses energy, but spectral in nature, and it possesses strength, but quiet and still in application. It is a deceptively simple record, one with earthy undertones and centuries of wisdom buried at its consecrated feet. It will make you feel and float and free.
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The PROG Mind 