Are You Here To Help?
Self-Released, 2022
9/10
Listen to Are You Here To Help?
Aaron Dolman, Sarah Rossy and Eugenie Jobin bring their collective strength to this very experimental listen, where emphasis on drums and voice are occasionally complemented by Jobin’s skilled vibraphone.
“Two Boats and the Lighthouse Keeper” opens the listen with a firm drumming presence as Rossy’s pretty pipes guide the avant-garde delivery, and “Giving (With)” follows with soulful singing alongside stragetic vibraphone in the dreamy, bare climate.
“Borrow A Memory” lands in the middle and emits a sparse landscape of gorgeous singing that’s layered sublimely, while “Apart” uses wordless vocals and light drums for an album highlight that manipulates space and tension with much precision. The title track then employs vibraphone superbly to accent the pretty singing from Rossy’s diverse pipes.
Arriving at the end, “When We Get There” is an exercise in minimalism that’s sparing in fascinating ways, and “To Hold Love” exits with the loudest selection, as thumping drums and bright singing meet at a very interesting intersection.
Atypical in a very charming fashion, the 11 tracks here are entirely unpredictable, and genres like folk and jazz are flirted with, though it’s truly an unclassifiable journey, and in the best way possible.
Travels well with: Nick Storring- newfoundout; Ellen Gibling- The Bend In The Light