FADERHEAD – HORIZON BORN
Genre: Electronic
Release Date: 23rd October 2009
Label: L-Tracks Records
FADERHEAD is always good for a surprise. But I don’t think that anyone would have guessed he would be putting out an EP full of ballads, though I really wished for something like that after hearing ‘Exit Ghost’. It proved he has a knack for creating such intimate, emotional pieces, more than the slower tracks on his regular albums did for me. The title track opening the record is a broadside; emotionally and arrangement-wise with majestic string sections towering up into a glowing sky, while flirting with tympani and other classical instruments as though FADERHEAD employed a complete orchestra. Some might say this is over the top, I’m saying it fits the content of the lyrics delivered without any alienation on the vocal tracks showing that he can easily go without them and has a decent voice.
The second offering ‘Silent Every Day’ is more introspective, its piano washes are discrete and intimate, and the orchestra subsided to a chamber four-piece. If you’re hearing this, it’s sometimes that you deem the thought this guy can actually create something like a floor filler completely absurd. A chiming melody alongside detached guitar chords played over low-fi patterns introduces the third track ‘Taking Pain in large Doses’ that particularly struck me with its chorus and orchestral swells. ‘Ghosts Outside These Walls’ adds a slightly more raucous edge with the applied distortion yet it’s not too much to kill its sweet bitterness. Apart from that it’s the only track featuring live drumming which I could picture on a faster FADERHEAD track too one day.
The last track ‘Brave’ opens with a wonderfully sentimental melody permeating the entire track only altering its appearance slightly, while being accompanied by minimalist beats. It’s like a little diamond refracting shades of bright light into various colours. What I mean is that even though it has this melancholic undertone it doesn’t feel hopeless to me. There’s light in it. Want to know my first thought after finishing the EP? I want more! I think FADERHEAD has truly outdone himself with this little collection of ballads he has audibly put much passion into creating. It’s also a testament of what a diverse artist he is. I was absolutely blown away by it.
Tracklist
01. Horizon Born
02. Silent Every Day
03. Taking Pain In Large Doses
04. Ghosts Outside These Walls
05. Brave
http://www.faderhead.com/