Bleep

It’s been a good 2018 for Stroom Records. Going about their business with a minimum of fuss, the Belgian label has quietly amassed an impressive collection of releases for the year from artists including Pablo’s Eye and Sonoko. In the form of Annelies Monsere’s Happiness Is Within Sight they have another feather for the cap. Across the nine tracks of this LP Monsere constructs a soundworld of music-box eeriness and uncanny ephemera. Piano, organ and electronics are used to create instrumentals that nod to Glasser, Anna Von Hausswolff and David Bowie’s Blackstar. Monsere’s breathy vocals, reminiscent of Beth Gibbons, add an extra air of mystery.