"Hannah Frances's exhilarating sixth album is an unruly ecosystem: nature sprawls, resurfaced family trauma unearths unrevealed roots, an unexpected rupture creates fertile ground for new understandings to blossom. The deep steadiness of the Vermont songwriter's previous album, last year's Keeper of the Shepherd, is replaced by ramshackle clusters of kindling-snap drums, nervy woodwind, jabbing brass, all swarming together like a cloud of bees. Her awkwardly beautiful chord changes evoke ornate wood carvings; her tempos are always wayward."
"The artwork for Nested in Tangles The showstopper is Life's Work, a runaway quest about her hunger to vanquish resentment, blame and anger, the tumbling metre of the lyrics unspooling as if pulling at an endless ball of wool. Learning to trust in spite of it is life's work, she declares, as a trumpet tries to keep pace with her."
"Surviving You makes clear that it's not so easy: There's nothing more to give toward forgiveness / When there is no willingness to understand, she sings. Her vocal harmonies are layered crudely, the feeling queasy and trapped by frustration; the rhythm suddenly becomes pendulous and guitar, sax and synths squall on the attack. The detail in the songs feels like someone tilling the earth, turning over every rock and grain to see what revelation it might yield."
Hannah Frances's sixth album unfolds as an unruly ecosystem where nature imagery and resurfaced family trauma reveal hidden roots. Ramshackle drums, nervy woodwind and jabbing brass swarm like a cloud of bees around awkwardly beautiful chord changes and wayward tempos. Songs probe forgiveness, anger and trust, with Life's Work portraying the hunger to vanquish resentment as a tumbling, unspooling metre while Surviving You admits the limits of forgiveness when willingness is absent. Vocal harmonies feel layered and queasy amid pendulous rhythms and squalling guitar, sax and synth. The detailed arrangements feel like tilling the earth, seeking revelation in every turned rock.
Read at www.theguardian.com
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