Aural Air - Edinburgh
Info: "Aural Air is a reverberating collection of sounds that started with a guitar lesson in primary school and a penchant for writing songs ever since. The layered lyrics and guitars lull the listener into an estranged state of disquiet joy. The music draws on a range of influences, from the melodic songwriting of Elliott Smith, to the psychedelic soundscapes of Warpaint, in order to create songs that are intimate and unafraid to wear thoughts and hearts on their sleeves."
When I first listened to the opening bars of 'Edinburgh' I had one of those, 'Ah...I can let a sigh of relief and enjoy this' moments, calming. From there however I was struck by how beautiful and delicate in some ways the track was, not too delicate mind, as the heartbeat of the bass-drum pulses away. Another boon for me was the absolutely gorgeous vocals, I've harped on on these here pages previously about singers allowing their own voice to come through and avoid impersonation, with Aural Air (Laura Rai) here, she has thankfully gone natural with the vox and it makes a huge difference.
Aural Air - The Heir of Indignation
The music is certainly further along the spectrum to rock music than the traditional folk / singer-songwriter tag. Second track 'The Heir of Indignation' leave us in no doubt about that, tinny solos and guitar riffs accompany another solid vocal, whilst the sound is different I musically think of St.Vincent or a stripped-back Jeff Buckley on Sketches. That is until the 2:30 mark and aw I'm in heaven, the guitar is deliciously simple and slick and sounds perfect, like Nirvana Unplugged in New York. Then there's the vivid imagery in the lyrics; "In the shadows, in the meadows, in the corners of your mind, when you suddenly felt sullenly and soon remember why, that they're watching and they're waiting in their vain hypocrisy....for the terrors that give birth to my stubborn apathy."
Thankfully an E.P. is almost on the horizon and will provide us with greater insight into what's jumping off Aural Air's palette, this pair of tracks confirm one thing already though, that we are dealing with a serious Irish talent and song-writer.
Listen:
SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/laura-rai
Bandcamp: https://auralair.bandcamp.com/releases
