4AD (label)
15 January 2016 (released)
14 January 2016
Both unsettling and soothing, Not to Disappear is likely to be the album that takes London-based Daughter beyond their loyal following in 2016.
Made up of Elena Tonra (vocals, guitar), Igor Haefeli (guitar) and Remi Aguilella (drums), Daughter are growing in a similar way to their music, with a slow-burning intensity.
Standout track and first single, Doing the Right Thing, is as sonically evocative as it is visually (see filmmakers Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard’s video). Numbers combines Tonra’s pained vocals with Aguilella’s rolling drums.
New Ways, with its “trying to find a way out” refrain, is the perfect opener for an album full of self-questioning and doubt.
Gone are the one-word titles used by the trio for 2013 debut album If You Leave. With the band’s preference for such simplicity ditched, their follow-up is as intricate as its predecessor but bolder and more daring. The trio’s studio time with New York producer Nicolas Vernhes (Animal Collective, War On Drugs) shines through.
Both No Care and the confessional Fossa see the band up the tempo.
Alone/With You digs into solitary existence, reaching comical levels with Tonra’s “I should get a dog or something”.
On Mothers, the recently turned 26-year-old sings of the “constant sting they call love”. Her lyrical aptitude is evident throughout and the album, likely to be enjoyed by fans of Massive Attack and Sigur Rós, is an honest outpouring of emotion.
Daughter is currently on tour in the UK, playing 10 dates between now and the end of January.
