State 51 (label)
11 March 2013 (released)
25 February 2013
“Come on round, you know I’ll let you in,” drawls Dan Michaelson - his raw vocal delivery crossing the mid-point between his Northampton origins and his time spent in Texas to record his 2011 solo album, Sudden Fiction.
Michaelson has toured with the likes of Phosphorescent and I Am Kloot, and much like the latter’s John Bramwell, he wears his metaphorical heart on his hypothetically alcohol soaked sleeve, with delicate, subdued results.
His is a gentle yet throaty plea, always one step away from cracking into whisky-induced nothingness, which contrasts beautifully with the beautifully sparse accompaniment by his Bad Seeds esque Coastguards.
Now onto their third full length record, ‘Blindspot’, the band - which also features Henry Spenner, Laurie Earle, Sanja Mitra and the gloriously named Horse - have shifted a world away from the up-tempo, indie-dirge sound of Michaelson’s previous project, Absentee.
As with Nick Cave’s recent soundtrack work, the sound here is forlorn, the lyrics are heartfelt, and the song builds gently to a crescendo, before quietly receding and returning to its origins, never outstaying its welcome.
Sheets is released on 11th March, with the album Blindspot following on 25th March.
