Name: Sudden Elevation
Brand: One Little Indian Us
SKU: 29977979
Price: 19.97 GBP
Availability: InStock

Sudden Elevation

Rating

Album: Sudden Elevation
#	Song Title		Time
1)	German Fields	More Info...	0:04
2)	Bright and Still	More Info...	0:03
3)	Return Again	More Info...	0:03
4)	Treat Her Kindly	More Info...	0:02
5)	Call It What You Want	More Info...	0:04
6)	A Little Grim	More Info...	0:03
7)	Fear Less	More Info...	0:03
8)	Numbers and Names	More Info...	0:03
9)	Sudden Elevation	More Info...	0:04
10)	The Joke	More Info...	0:01
11)	Onwards and Upwards	More Info...	0:02
12)	Perfect	More Info...	0:03

Album: Sudden Elevation
#	Song Title		Time
1)	German Fields	More Info...	0:04
2)	Bright and Still	More Info...	0:03
3)	Return Again	More Info...	0:03
4)	Treat Her Kindly	More Info...	0:02
5)	Call It What You Want	More Info...	0:04
6)	A Little Grim	More Info...	0:03
7)	Fear Less	More Info...	0:03
8)	Numbers and Names	More Info...	0:03
9)	Sudden Elevation	More Info...	0:04
10)	The Joke	More Info...	0:01
11)	Onwards and Upwards	More Info...	0:02
12)	Perfect	More Info...	0:03

Performer Notes

Icelandic singer/songwriter Ol”f Arnalds' third studio album, the dreamy, delicate, and oddly regal-sounding Sudden Elevation, is also her first outing to be delivered entirely in English, revealing an artist who, like everybody else in the world, just wants to be loved. With a voice that falls somewhere between the fairy princess croon of Joanna Newsom and the breathy intimacy of Vashti Bunyan, it can be difficult at times to separate the melodies from the vocal affectations, but like her fellow countrywoman Bjork Gudmundsd¢ttir, it only takes a song or two before the two begin to get along famously. Musically, Arnalds presents a vision of folk music that is almost Elizabethan, suggesting a world of romance, intrigue, and pastoral, summery castle grounds, albeit ones where J¢nsi is the court jester and the court composer is Sufjan Stevens instead of Thomas Tallis. That notion is best exemplified by two of the album's strongest cuts, the intoxicating opener "German Fields" and its equally beguiling mid-set partner in crime "A Little Grim," both of which utilize the singer/songwriter's myriad quirks in extremely naturalistic ways. Sometimes, as is the case on the lovely yet slight "Bright and Still," the simplistic lyrics transcend naivet‚ and venture dangerously close to obtuse, but for the most part, Arnalds shows a pretty decent command of the language, which would probably explain songs like "Treat Her Kindly," "Numbers and Names," and the sparse title track, all of which suggest a steady diet of Joni Mitchell albums. ~ James Christopher Monger

Professional Reviews

Q (Magazine) (p.93) - 3 stars out of 5 -- "[S]he sounds both intimate and highbrow. Like her peers Joanna Newsom and Fiona Apple, she's always moving."