Far from falling under the weight of either expectation or ambition, {awayland} is a far more magnificent progression from Jackal than any of us could have hoped for.
There are many treasures to be found here, with the songs positively fizzing with a gleeful ingenuity.
It's a leap into the great unknown, and it rips up the singer-songwriter rulebook in favour of something far more ambitious, even when at its most straightforward.
{Awayland} assumes an endless pallet of instrumental exploration while still remaining easily digestible.
Where there was tension and urgency, now there’s bigger, poppier and probably more commercially viable folk songs that don’t quite pack the same punch.
O’Brien’s voice is beautiful and his songwriting often adventurous, but there are times when the aim isn’t as true as it could be.
When there’s opportunity to expand the experimental bubble further, they turn inwards and revert back to what is comfortable.
{Awayland} rarely comes across as false, but O’Brien's affinity for cleverness over clarity ensures it rarely comes across in any real way.
This one surprised me. I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't this. While it isn't an incredibly exciting release, it is ambitious, melodious, and enticing. It does have a lot of lyrical trip-ups, it seems, as sometimes a strange lyric will tear you away from the soundscape itself. However, that aside, this is a playful folk album taking cues from both Bon Iver and tUnE-yArDs. If weird folk is your thing, give this thing a spin. It might surprise you too.
#26 | / | MOJO |
#85 | / | musicOMH |
#95 | / | Rough Trade |