Daughter, originally just the solo work of Elena Tonra, have spent the past few years making a name for themselves, so their debut album was highly anticipated and it is safe to say that they truly lived up to their expectations. ‘If You Leave’ is a wonderful collection of songs from the three piece band.
The instrumental work on the album for the large part is very gloomy and slow, but this works perfectly with the style of vocals chosen by the talented Elena Tonra. It is haunting, that is the best and only word to really describe it. It is littered with Elena’s Tonra emotion and pain. You can hear the effort that has been pumped into these songs. What makes this indie/folk band so unique is their elegance, at no point do the seem to forceful or loud with their music. There is always an underlying calming nature to them.
The record contains many strong tracks, some of the strongest being ‘Amsterdam’ and ‘Touch’, however the strongest track on the record was without a doubt ‘Smother’. Everything from the lyrics to the build and sudden slow down, with the subtle piano made the song just about perfect. The best quality of the album I felt was Elena’s vocals, they are somewhat comforting yet unnerving at the same time. There are no real flaws with this album; the musicians have definitely worked together as a collaborative project and thought about each note and sound that entered the final mix.
Overall this is an extremely impressive album. Daughter is a great addition to the new forefront of British music that seems to be leading the charts at the moment. If folk and gloomy music is your thing, than this album is 100%up your street.
Rating: 10/10
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