Stephanie Dosen’s debut album ‘A Lily For The Spectre’ is attention-grabbing for several reasons. Firstly it is released on notable label Bella Union, secondly it features Bella Union founder and ex-Cocteau Twins member Simon Raymonde on bass and thirdly Dosen was raised on a peacock farm in Wisconsin. The latter has absolutely nothing to do with the music or this review per say, but it certainly grabbed my attention.
A title like ‘A Lily For The Spectre’ hints that this might not be the cheeriest of albums and a quick glance through the song titles seems to confirm this. Despite the occasional suggestion of positivity in titles such as ‘This Joy’ and ‘Only Getting Better’, the majority hint at darker themes: ‘Owl In The Dark’, Death & The Maiden’ and the title track to name but three. And sure enough, this turns out to be a largely morose album. It can, of course, be dangerous to judge a book by its cover, but one would be wise to with ‘A Lily For A Spectre’. Accompanied for the most part by melancholic keys or piano and fingerpicked or strummed acoustic guitar, Dosen glides her way through 11 quietly powerful tracks that focus on spectral themes.
Opener ‘This Joy’ is not as positive as it first seemed, as it turns out that “This joy will fade inside” and the acoustic guitar is supplemented by plaintive strings and keyboard chords to emphasise the downbeat nature of the lyrics. This mould is one that Dosen sticks to throughout the course of the album, focusing her efforts on delivery without much in the way of experimentation. There are little tweaks here and there that rise above the singing and mellow instrumentation, such as the breathy backing vocals on ‘Death And The Maiden’ or the violin on ‘Owl In The Dark’, but she largely keeps things simple and effective.
Clearly Dosen’s main strength is her evocative voice and it dominates the album, with many long, held notes and often layered over itself (see particularly the aptly titled ‘Like A Dream’). Combining fragility with depth, it is excellent throughout and perfectly complements her almost child-like songwriting, typified by ‘Vinalhaven Harbor’: “When I was young I had a dark heart inside of me…Now I go to the dark playground where I can’t let go”. She hits vocal highs on the uncharacteristically upbeat ‘Only Getting Better’ with its glorious “It’s all so beautiful” refrain, but equally her singing is at its most poignant when it is delicately fragile, such as on ‘Like A Dream’ or ‘Way Out’.
‘A Lily...’ is at its heart a collection of dream-like songs that feel like they should be animated by Tim Burton. It is certainly not traditional girl-meets-boy fare with its ethereal atmosphere and ghostly lyrics (“You had a vampire grin… and you hold back like a tear”) and would work well as the soundtrack to something like Burton’s ‘Corpse Bride’. It’s beautifully sung, heartfelt and polished at the same time with songs that are at times bewitching and always a pleasant listen and perfectly arranged. In the end, though, this proves to be its downfall too. One gets lost in it as each song melts into the other, but, equally, one gets lost in it as each song melts into the other. Unless you really concentrate on the quirky lyrical twists there is little that stands out or pricks up the ears, little that marks it out as anything truly special. It’s a lovely album. In fact it’s just that – ‘lovely’ – something it both benefits and suffers from
A title like ‘A Lily For The Spectre’ hints that this might not be the cheeriest of albums and a quick glance through the song titles seems to confirm this. Despite the occasional suggestion of positivity in titles such as ‘This Joy’ and ‘Only Getting Better’, the majority hint at darker themes: ‘Owl In The Dark’, Death & The Maiden’ and the title track to name but three. And sure enough, this turns out to be a largely morose album. It can, of course, be dangerous to judge a book by its cover, but one would be wise to with ‘A Lily For A Spectre’. Accompanied for the most part by melancholic keys or piano and fingerpicked or strummed acoustic guitar, Dosen glides her way through 11 quietly powerful tracks that focus on spectral themes.
Opener ‘This Joy’ is not as positive as it first seemed, as it turns out that “This joy will fade inside” and the acoustic guitar is supplemented by plaintive strings and keyboard chords to emphasise the downbeat nature of the lyrics. This mould is one that Dosen sticks to throughout the course of the album, focusing her efforts on delivery without much in the way of experimentation. There are little tweaks here and there that rise above the singing and mellow instrumentation, such as the breathy backing vocals on ‘Death And The Maiden’ or the violin on ‘Owl In The Dark’, but she largely keeps things simple and effective.
Clearly Dosen’s main strength is her evocative voice and it dominates the album, with many long, held notes and often layered over itself (see particularly the aptly titled ‘Like A Dream’). Combining fragility with depth, it is excellent throughout and perfectly complements her almost child-like songwriting, typified by ‘Vinalhaven Harbor’: “When I was young I had a dark heart inside of me…Now I go to the dark playground where I can’t let go”. She hits vocal highs on the uncharacteristically upbeat ‘Only Getting Better’ with its glorious “It’s all so beautiful” refrain, but equally her singing is at its most poignant when it is delicately fragile, such as on ‘Like A Dream’ or ‘Way Out’.
‘A Lily...’ is at its heart a collection of dream-like songs that feel like they should be animated by Tim Burton. It is certainly not traditional girl-meets-boy fare with its ethereal atmosphere and ghostly lyrics (“You had a vampire grin… and you hold back like a tear”) and would work well as the soundtrack to something like Burton’s ‘Corpse Bride’. It’s beautifully sung, heartfelt and polished at the same time with songs that are at times bewitching and always a pleasant listen and perfectly arranged. In the end, though, this proves to be its downfall too. One gets lost in it as each song melts into the other, but, equally, one gets lost in it as each song melts into the other. Unless you really concentrate on the quirky lyrical twists there is little that stands out or pricks up the ears, little that marks it out as anything truly special. It’s a lovely album. In fact it’s just that – ‘lovely’ – something it both benefits and suffers from
First published on rockfeedback.com. See it here.
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