Soft Fascination/Clear Vinyl

Description

The genre-defying Welsh outfit defines their vision with a stunning new album. Islet’s ‘Soft Fascination’ is an ecstatic musical experience, an explosion of emotion subsumed into sound. The album is filled with energetic cadences and meditations on collective joy, a balancing act supported by glorious melodies and Emma Daman Thomas’s evocative vocals swirling into the symphonic undertow. Self-produced, with instruments recorded live and few overdubs, the effect is direct, it goes from immediacy to space and defiance. The first half is intentionally fast, intense, almost relentless. The second half is more spacious, as the album unravels and becomes hazier. There is excitement, fascination and a willingness to show a lack of restraint in the making, traversing hail storms, hedgerows, broken promises, and poisoned prayers; constantly breathing real life. With standout singles: the exhilarating “Euphoria”, the liberating energy flow of “River Body”, and the recurring enigma of choice in “Hat Person”, ‘Soft Fascination’ is an album of rare beauty.