The electronic avant-songsmith Douglas Dare has kindly given us a first play of his excellent new album Whelm before it comes out next week.
Whelm‘s sound is often little more than a piano, Dare’s voice and some sparse accompanying electronics, contributed by producer Fabian Prynn, a minimalism that’s used to prime effect, with our reviewer Tristan Bath writing: "The relative simplicity of Whelm is a smokescreen for its emotional depth and complexity. It’s bittersweet, raw and honest, and – for the first time in a long while – it’s a piano singer album that’s not drowning in cliché."
The album is out on Erased Tapes Records next Monday, May 12; head to the label’s website to pre-order and head to Dare’s website for details of his upcoming live shows, including a set at The Great Escape festival this Thursday, May 8.