Laura Gibson has been busy since the release of her second album ‘Beasts of Seasons’ back in 2009. Having performed over 200 shows in the time-space between, it’s surprising she has found time to record another album. Describing her new work, she says ‘I really feel this [album] needed to be a statement about the future – about moving forward fearlessly”.
What she has put together is a delicious ensemble of work that retains the folky touch that Gibson is known for, but also manages to be rock-sweet, jazzy and elemental. ‘The Fire’ feels like a touch of country and western, even a little Mumford-and-Sons-like while slower tracks like ‘Crow/Swallow’ and ‘Feather Lungs’ are passionate and touching ‘We all need our feather lungs/As needless as when we are dead/ Every breathe…will teach us how to die again.’ Lyrically, the album is a mental study on life and being. It’s something stronger and more well-thought-out than her previous work.
Having controlled its production from start to finish, Gibson has managed to bring a lot of personality to the songs; suggested by the album’s title ‘La Grande’, being the town in Oregon, USA where Gibson found inspiration for her songs. ‘Lion/Lamb’ is a jazzy, Sinatra-esque melody plied by guitar, piano, synthesizer, even a little flute. It could just as well be heard in a Soho jazz bar as on a TV commercial. And ‘Skin, Warming Skin’ is probably one of my favourite songs on the album. ‘Secrets spun as thin as some threads/Healing in the hands of Summer dresses’, Gibson hypnotizes.
At times the album is thematic. ‘Time is Not’ rivets with an intro that’s almost tribal before soaring into this guitar chorus that becomes more indie, ‘Time is not against us’ she repeats in the chorus. If the only down-side of the album is that Gibson often uses dramatic, sharp endings to her songs, this is enhanced by the energy and variety. If anything, the abrupt stops boost the theatrical feel, in particular with the final song ‘Feather Lungs’ that stops abruptly and without warning. It leaves you wanting more. Perhaps this is just what Laura Gibson intended.
What she has put together is a delicious ensemble of work that retains the folky touch that Gibson is known for, but also manages to be rock-sweet, jazzy and elemental. ‘The Fire’ feels like a touch of country and western, even a little Mumford-and-Sons-like while slower tracks like ‘Crow/Swallow’ and ‘Feather Lungs’ are passionate and touching ‘We all need our feather lungs/As needless as when we are dead/ Every breathe…will teach us how to die again.’ Lyrically, the album is a mental study on life and being. It’s something stronger and more well-thought-out than her previous work.
Having controlled its production from start to finish, Gibson has managed to bring a lot of personality to the songs; suggested by the album’s title ‘La Grande’, being the town in Oregon, USA where Gibson found inspiration for her songs. ‘Lion/Lamb’ is a jazzy, Sinatra-esque melody plied by guitar, piano, synthesizer, even a little flute. It could just as well be heard in a Soho jazz bar as on a TV commercial. And ‘Skin, Warming Skin’ is probably one of my favourite songs on the album. ‘Secrets spun as thin as some threads/Healing in the hands of Summer dresses’, Gibson hypnotizes.
At times the album is thematic. ‘Time is Not’ rivets with an intro that’s almost tribal before soaring into this guitar chorus that becomes more indie, ‘Time is not against us’ she repeats in the chorus. If the only down-side of the album is that Gibson often uses dramatic, sharp endings to her songs, this is enhanced by the energy and variety. If anything, the abrupt stops boost the theatrical feel, in particular with the final song ‘Feather Lungs’ that stops abruptly and without warning. It leaves you wanting more. Perhaps this is just what Laura Gibson intended.
