Posted by ‘Angel In Disguise’ marks the second full length from London based composer Leifur James, and sees the artist concaving introspectively through a stirring, emotional blur of harmonic vocals, nuanced electronic soundscapes and melancholic tension that tackle personal experiences of love and loss.
While Leifur’s first record, A Louder Silence, featured jazz influences his latest project meanders towards the darkness. Leifur was encouraged from an early stage by his mother to take up cello – gaining a deep understanding of rhythm and melody in the process – and implementing it through an experimental blend of classical, soul and contemporary electronic inventiveness.
‘Angel In Disguise’ gives off film noir qualities. ‘Circles’ could easily score a scene from an old black and white picture; it’s mournful soul sound-tracking a lonely figure, stumbling along the road as the rain pours down on him. It’s a familiar, emotionally captivating image, and these little blooms of imagination are sprinkled throughout the album, providing moments of contemplation, intimacy and sentimental release.
The journey may be in black and white, but please do not associate that with boredom. There are just enough varied styles, tempos and aesthetics throughout to keep the intimate journey alive, through soulful keys (‘I Ran With You’), emotionally vulnerable skipped-out beats (‘Wise Old Man’, ‘Strange With You’) and sub-heavy experimental pop (AAID). Leifur calls upon a varied collection of influences, even calling upon the rainy, murky garage rhythms associated with Bural and wif, and moulding them together with his classical background on one of the record’s stand out tracks – ‘Ritual’.
Leifur implements his voice expertly– never saying too little, and never saying too much – which gives the album a real element of profound tension. Perhaps the best example of Leifur’s vocal work is on ‘Alien’; the vocals are manipulated in such a way that it actually begins to sound a lot like early Corbin (‘Echoes In My Mind’) and symbolises a real understanding of hurt and pain. Leifur lets the vocal take second string to the production as the intro reaches its end, intelligently using his voice as a tool amongst the kicks and snares to give off an aesthetic that is both haunting and eerie, yet subtle and calming.
On ‘Angel In Disguise’ Leifur has let us into his world of emotionality and coldness. The record can begin to feel a little bleak, but in a sense that it echoes the numbness that only heartbreak calls upon. Its plays out wonderfully, inducing images of straight whiskey and cigarette smoke, and a feeling of soulful submission that diverts the gaze of the record inward as we explore the artist’s deepest thoughts.
8/10
Words: Andrew Moore
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