Three words that say so much. Anyone who has even the slightest appreciation of Western art will read that title and immediately picture J. M. W. Turner’s brilliantly textured and wonderfully obscured, elemental painting of the same name. And it is such images, such richness, such emotive reactions, rather than the subject of the painting itself, that are relevant here. With Nils Lassen’s second album, like Turner’s signature style, the deeper you look, the more rewarding it is.
‘Lost and Found (Alba)’ opens on bird song before tumbling into a driven yet slightly downbeat energy, the instrumentation cocooned in rich vocals, before the title track shifts into a more pop-aware sound, slightly gothic-tinged and full of tension.
‘Eagle Eyes’ has something of the chamber pop past about it, 60s-infused and full of intrigue. ‘Mama, Do You Think It’s Gonna Rain All Day’ is gorgeous, an almost a cappella piece that grows in stature via vocal washes and spiralling, chiming riffs, reminding me of that neo-classical-pop hybrid that is ‘Life in a Northern Town,’ arguably The Dream Academy’s finest moment. By the time ‘Evening Song For Emily’ plays us out, a brilliantly big and buoyant, ornate and orchestrated rocker, you realise that you have just spent time in the presence of a singularly brilliant singer-songwriter. It’s as simple as that. (Although such a term as singer-songwriter hardly touches on what Lassen gives us here.)
And beyond the songs themselves, we find recurring themes playing out: the tension between the old world and the new, the balance of sun and rain, and the same opaque brushstrokes at work as the Turner reference point, a rich blend of sonic hues, complex textures and a finished work that is so much more than the sum of its sonic parts.
I often round reviews off by saying that you really need the record in your collection, which might have become a bit of a cliché, something to just make for an easy outro and perhaps subconsciously, to keep the artist happy. When I say you need Rain Steam Speed in your life, I’ve never been this earnest in any recommendation.
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