Following on from last year’s Grace & Gravity, which received favourable international coverage (from ourselves included). Danish dreampop duo BlackieBlueBird release their latest album A Symphony Of Shadows.
By Graeme Smith
BlackieBlueBird are vocalist Heidi Lindahl and composer Nils Lassen. They burst onto my radar last year through Grace & Gravity, an album that struck me with its beautiful compositions and mix of retro and modern elements.
Their latest album A Symphony Of Shadows expands their enchanting sound without alienating existing fans. Across ten tracks it gives us a mix of the fresh and the familiar, all wrapped around compositions that will have you fully immersed in the album’s world.
Opening with the gentle, breathy Flying Too Close to the Ground, we know we’re in for something special with A Symphony of Shadows. An earthy, looping and hypnotic melodic is paired with airy vocals giving us plenty of shades of light and dark before its chorus takes things into the stratosphere.
We hear tales of desire, love, life and loss written by Nils and beautifully emoted by Heidi. Please Don’t Go is an early and particularly absorbing effort that had me hanging on ever word. As is What Time Is It? which feels so delicate that it might break at any moment. Sometime Soon, too, smoulders with a bluesy, melancholic energy that had me feeling along.
As the album reaches its climax we get the Bond theme-esque Battered, Beaten but Not Broken, the Gothic country-infused Life’s Been Raining All Day and cinematic album closer Ghost River.
BlackieBlueBird’s new album is a timely reminder of all I love about their sound, as well as being an exciting addition to their growing discography. They are masters of creating atmosphere with their music, and each of the album’s tracks overflow with understated emotion. I simply can’t recommend their new album enough.
A Symphony Of Shadows features Tomas Ortved on drums, Tashi Mutzaki on piano, and string arrangements by Lazlo Singer. It’s out now, in cooperation with T&E Records and Aenaos Records, available to buy as a digital album on Bandcamp, and stream-able below.