It has been four years since the last AVAWAVES album. but in no way has the duo spent that time resting.
With Anna Phoebe‘s radio compositions and the soundtrack scoring that both she and Aisling Brouwer are involved with, the duo have been very busy and it is the soundtrack work that seems to have fed into the direction of this latest album.
The previous album was recorded with lockdown restrictions, but there is barely any of Chrysalis‘s sense of melancholy. If anything, that melancholy shows its face briefly as the album opens and is then swept away and replaced by a cool, dark elegance that sits well with the lazy, scuffed beats.
Their combined energy is palpable and along with chosen guests who add cello, guitar and electronics along with some vocals from Imogen Williams, the scope seems wider, with the warm piano tones wrapping around the violin as they await the sweep of the beats with their crisp European flow. The songs move without recognition of borders and there is a sense of momentum in the simple repetitive piano motifs, tempering the more flyaway strings that swoop and glide.
There are lively moments as well, but there is a delicate feel to the beats, as if experienced from within a controlled environment as streetlights pass beyond darkened windows; while in other places the understated piano slows things down and draws them closer to the ground, opens them up to nature as the strings soar trying to break free. It is an interesting dichotomy between piano and violin and it is only enlivened by the judicious use of extra textures and vocals.
On the final track though, all bets are off and we are assailed by an all-out techno attack, with the sweet swell of stings doing something to lessen the bite of what is, to use common parlance, a bit of a banger. It is an unexpected and rather diverting conclusion to a beautifully produced and orchestrated selection. AVAWAVES go from strength to strength and long may that continue.-Mr Olivetti-
