Dot Allison - Heart-Shaped Scars

Dot Allison stand in den 90ern der Band One Dove vor, lieh ihre Stimme beispielsweise Death In Vegas, sang ein Duett mit Pete Doherty, komponierte gemeinsam mit Massive Attack oder Paul Weller und arbeitete auf ihren Soloalben mit Kevin Shields, Rob Ellis oder Dave Fridman zusammen. 

Dabei verschob sich ihr Fokus von Electronica und Trip Hop in den letzten Jahren in Richtung zarten, ätherischen Folks. So auch auf „Heart-Shaped Scars“, dem aktuellen Album der 51-jährigen Singer/Songwriterin.

Das Album wurde in den Castlesound Studios in ihrer Heimatstadt Edinburgh aufgenommen und von Dot Allison zusammen mit Fiona Cruickshank produziert. Hannah Peel fügte zu vier, der ansonsten recht sparsam instrumentierten Liedern Streicherarrangements hinzu. Mit Sarah Campbell, Amy Bowman und Zoë Bestel waren weitere Folk-Musikerinnen in die Sessions involviert. Der Großteil (Ukulele, Klavier, 12-saitige Gitarre, Mellotron, Keyboards oder Harmonium) wurden von Allison jedoch im Alleingang eingespielt und durch Feldaufnahmen von Vogelgezwitscher, Flüssen und dem Ambiente der Hebriden, wo sie ein Cottage hat, ergänzt. Inspiriert wurde sie von der Natur sowie Folk- und Dreampop-Musikern vergangener Epochen, wie Linda Perhacs, Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Nick Drake oder Mazzy Star.

„Heart-Shaped Scars“ erscheint als auf 500 Exemplare limitierte Doppel-LP im Klappcover und auf Transparent Green Vinyl.

 

Listening to the album is like eavesdropping on a group of people making music for themselves, purging the deepest feelings for no other reason than it's the right thing to do. In that regard, Heart-Shaped Scars has much in common with the obscure private-press singer/songwriters of the early '70s who sounded slightly out of place and time, yet plugged into the cosmic continuum all the same. It's easy to get carried away with these kinds of thoughts as the album plays and one is transported ever so carefully out of wherever they might be at the time and into Allison's haunted house of sound and emotion. The quieter tracks like "The Haunted" and "Forever's Not Much Time" take you there on a cloud of sadness as Allison's vocals guide the way. Slightly more arranged and dramatic songs such as "Constellations" and "Cue the Tears" come complete with drums and the aching quality of a lost Sandy Denny classics.

(All Music)

 

As the songs progress on Heart-Shaped Scars, the record title makes a lot of sense as it’s an emotionally naked and open album. Dot Allison is a candid and sensitive artist who weaves little mini-stories that sound precious and beautiful but have intelligent, brave, and thoughtful lyrics. On the album’s best song, “Ghost Orchid”, Allison’s intimate vocals are backed by a fuller orchestration with a thrilling chorus that’s achingly beautiful with a moving string section equal parts informal and epic.

Another high point on an album full of them is the waltz-like “Cue the Tears”, an indie folk-pop number with a catchy hook that manages to thaw some of the album’s overall wintry frost. It’s the one song that sounds most radio-ready, but it still maintains the record’s intelligence and esoteric sensibility.

Despite Dot Allison’s groundbreaking and innovative work in dance music, this direction is a winning one. The lo-fi production with the brittle, fine production – it’s like a diaphanous dew-dropped web floating in the wind –   is a fantastic fit for the singer’s confessional and frank lyrics as well as her angelic vocals. There’s heartache, pain, and longing in the songs, but there’s also an inspired inspiration from that pain resulting in some very touching and beautiful music.

(PopMatters)