We don’t have time to construct a full on review of the new album by ‘My Brother is Pale’, but theyre another band who we’ve wanted to write about for a while, and its by good fortune that their album ‘Battery Low’ was released this month. The band, originally formed by Dutch songwriter Matthijs van Issum in 2009, is now Icelandic based, and the album is their debut release, after going through significant line-up changes, as well as introducing more electronic influences whilst recording the album.
‘Battery Low’ is an interesting debut, it has a real level of intensity to it, a gentle melancholy which is never overpowering, and the instrumentation is rich, flowing full of ideas and haunting melodies. Tracks such as ‘Fields / I forgot’ and ‘Urbs Sacra’ are a real highlight, and the video to ‘Fields / I Forgot’ was released over the summer, and here it is:
I've really enjoyed getting to know this album over the last week, ‘Battery Low’ is definitely worth getting hold of, and its worth sticking with too, its subtle, clever and well written, and you’ll definitely grow into the fusion of electronic and acoustic ideas after a couple of listens. The band are planning live dates over the Autumn, and are already starting to work on their next album, so we’ll let you know what theyre up to next. Find them at the following places: