Bleep

This album features in the top ten albums of 2013

These New Puritans’ third album Field Of Reeds is impressive in its refusal to simply repeat the tricks of 2010’s critically-lauded Hidden, charming through understated beauty rather than searing dread. The orchestral musicians which had previously bolstered a sound that essentially remained a rock band here come to the fore, resonating out from plaintive piano playing.

‘Spiral’ constructs huge swathes of orchestral strings and muted horns around mumbling ethereal vocals in a manner recalling Bjork’s most esoteric work, while those vocals echo within the resonance of a homespun piano sound on ‘This Guy’s in Love With You’, giving a more personal effect than most large-scale orchestral music. Elsewhere, gorgeous organ sounds give the album much needed depth and weight, ‘Organ Eternal’ adopting a bubbling minimalist stream of notes with twinkles of marimba and ‘The Light in Your Name’ focusing the same elements into a ballad which ebbs and flows at a strange and constantly compelling pace. Album closer ‘Field of Reeds’ delivers a welcome arrival point in an ambiguous and shape-shifting set of songs, as a velvety male choir flesh out the promise of breathy vocals from previous tracks, and carefully employed vibraphones make the song sparkle as well as feel mournful and luscious.