sarah neufeld

The glorious yet foreboding work of the Canadian composer / violinist has been raved about by us plenty before (via her work with Arcade Fire & Bell Orchestre, her collaborations with Colin Stetson & her previous solo offerings) but her ear for diverse timbres, textures & ambiences through neo-classical, electro-acoustic & avant-folk filters, has us shivering in awe once more.

By shaping soul-searing strings amidst a dusting of warming reverb, Neufeld conveys a bottomless pang of longing & loss. Vivid textures & images are crafted with infinite grace over the course of the album. Tumbling notes & an undercurrent of burbling grace writhe up through the poignant miasma to hoist this from hopelessness into seminal euphoria.

Composer and violinist Sarah Neufeld is a career-long touring and recording member of Arcade Fire. Her third solo LP ‘Detritus’ confronts anguish with beauty, turmoil with grace, gliding through the present like a dancer mid-motion, reaching through space 'til she's caught. The album is wistful and emotive and carries the listener on a journey of euphoric and complex looped violin dusted with mesmeric melody recall. Openers ‘Stories’ and ‘Unreflected’ lead with atmospheric ease, sombre soundscapes and distant, otherworldly vocals. ‘With Love And Blindness’ ups the tempo with remote, dreamlike rhythms that hypnotise and enthrall. ‘The Top’ is elated, but it highlights the isolated strings and poetic loneliness Neufeld is able to convey with them. ‘Tumble Down The Undecided’ and ‘Shed Your Heart’ are climatic in their delivery, full of cascading notes and delays before closer ‘Detritus’ exits with a state of calm, easing back into the shadows and taking with it the vivid textures and images crafted with infinite grace over the course of the album.