Darning Woman
by Anastasia Coope

I'm a big fan of artists creating an enveloping effect in their music by layering vocal on top of each other, it wasn't hard for me to get into Darning Woman. In about 20 minutes (one of the very few times I've paid more than £1 per minute of music when buying a record) Anastasia Coope packs together 9 experiments in vocal layering, often with very minimal instrumentation. Experiment kind of feels like the wrong word to use, because they don't normally have a 100% success rate. Subconsciously I've grouped these tracks into three when listening to them. The first three basically repeat the same lines over and over, gradually building the scope of the arrangement until there's a new and beautiful harmony appearing every few seconds. The next three are more rooted to the guitar work, which keeps everything anchored. This doesn't stop the vocals soaring, especially on Woke Up and No Feet, where smooth and staccato styles combine to create rhythms within rhythms. The last few tracks are maybe a little less complicated in their vocal arrangements but show off the strongest songwriting and song progression. In just 100 seconds Sorghum moves from the sprightly "I see something there..." to the more withdrawn middle section and concludes with the more direct "She is with me and I'm not happy about it". Every part connects and allows the feel of the track to just slowly shift around. Maybe the most exciting track here is Return to Room, where the gentle piano creates so much space that Anastasia's voice(s) fill. Here, the vocals and song structure are equally developed and there's new beauty to discover round every corner. If it's a sign of things to come (this album is already a big step up from the still very nice Seemely EP) then I can't wait to hear what comes next!