Dreamy, floaty, lovely and lots of other words that end in ‘y’
“From This Vantage” begins with the open guitar echoes of the almost ambient ‘Trapped Behind Silence’ and immediately the album wraps you in a warm glow, but when that track morphs seamlessly into the far more bombastic opening of ‘Return To Us’ your heart skips a beat; it is very beautiful, the strings bring layers of sweeping noise and at times this track is slightly reminiscent of The Cocteau Twins ethereal grunginess. Next up is ‘Dark, Dark, My Light’ in which there is a moment that literally makes your skin prickle; more echoes, angelic vocals, throbbing beats and a sweet melody combine.
‘Safely Caged In Bone’ feels initially like a traditional folk song with the echoing strings but it is underpinned by oddly off-beat drumming almost making it sound like a looped sample which is ingenious. TAOE often upset your expectations like this; using instruments traditionally associated with folk and gentle vocals but warping them slightly and adding echoes and odd rhythms they make things far more interesting.
TAOE’s always lovely orchestral-rock tunes will break your heart if you let them; cello and violin mixed with brass and more (as well as the usual guitar/bass and drums) give them the ability to create moments of epic noise (listen to album closer ‘From This Vantage’ for an ear scorching example)as well as the intimate, gentle swirls they do so well. This album gives you the full sweep of their abilities and shows them off brilliantly, making you want to come back for more over and over again.