Agnes Obel
Aventine

Release Date: 2013 | Tracklist

Had a bad day at work ? Put this record on and kick back. Feeling angry with the guy who just cut you up at a road junction ? Slip this CD into the car stereo. Agnes will soothe your furrowed brow with a gentle hand and bring your heart rate down to near catatonic levels. The power of this album to invoke a sense of peace is quite remarkable. The Danish singer/songwriter's ethereally beautiful voice is undoubtedly the highlight on this sophomore album but the crystalline piano melodies and mournful strings that dominate most of the music serve as a perfect backdrop for her teflon-coated larynx.

The recipe here is not too far removed from that to be found on Agnes's 2010 debut 'Philharmonics' but there is an unmistakeable growth in maturity. Her melodies are just that little bit more fulfilling, the piano-folk arrangements now exude more gravitas and there is a marked improvement in consistency across the board. There is a tangible 'less is more' approach on here with sparse arrangements that leave ample room for the musical ideas to breathe. The production has also become more intimate and slightly more reverb-washed which gels perfectly with the misty translucency of the whole package. Album highlight 'The Curse' is a microcosm of everything that makes this album such a wonderful achievement. Plucked strings lead deftly into a simple but heart-wrenchingly melancholic cello motif that weaves in and out of Agnes's winsomely engaging vocals. An utterly spine-tingling chorus serves to break up the delicate tick-tock rhythms as her uplifting harmonies gently embrace you and carry you up into the overcast skies. The song, and indeed the album as a whole, radiates a mournful serenity and softly flowing delicacy that prove to be almost irresistible once you have drifted, almost unknowingly, into its velvet arms.

This is definitely not an album to be hurried or sampled piecemeal. This is much more than a collection of songs. Agnes creates her own intimate world and the listener is tenderly beckoned inside to experience a cossetted journey through serene soundscapes and daintily yearning harmonies. Take up her invitation and you will emerge with a profound sense of tranquility.

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4 excellent

Rank: #60 for 2013