Swallow [CD]

Steve Queralt - Swallow [CD]

Ride bassist Steve Queralt's debut solo album Swallow is a beautifully brooding nine-track collection that combines the darkly textured soundscapes of early M83 and Sigur Rós with an electronic sheen reminiscent of Boards Of Canada. It also features guest vocals from Sonic Cathedral labelmate Emma Anderson (formerly of Lush and Sing-Sing) and Verity Susman (Electrelane, MEMORIALS). Swallow has been slowly but surely pieced together between Ride albums and tours over the past five years and, perhaps as a result, has a slightly dystopian, Blade Runner feel that reflects the liminal spaces in which it was created. Despite the fact that the majority of the album is instrumental, there is plenty of power and emotion poured into these moody, moonlit soundtracks. When words do appear, an underlying anger and political slant emerges and amplifies the album's dark intensity. This is most notable on the closing track, "Motor Boats," where he overlays words from Julie Sheldon's polemic poem The Same Boat. According to Steve, these simple words of rejection "capture the reality of our times perfectly." However, it was the collaborations with the two guest vocalists that tied the whole thing together and paved the way to the finished album. 01. Mission Creep_x000D_ 02. Lonely Town feat. Emma Anderson_x000D_ 03. High Teens_x000D_ 04. A Porsche Shaped Hole_x000D_ 05. Swiss Air feat. Emma Anderson_x000D_ 06. I Don't Know How To Sing_x000D_ 07. Messengers feat. Verity Susman_x000D_ 08. 1988 _x000D_ 09. Motor Boats