We're very excited to bring you the UK Exclusive full preview of the new Land Of Talk album, Cloak & Cipher which is out today.Following on from Some Are Lakes, the well regarded (and Justin Vernon of Bon Iver produced) debut album in 2008, lead singer, guitarist and lyricist Lizzie Powell spent time away from her native Montreal, on the road and on-stage both for Land Of Talk duties and as a full-time member of the Canadian collective/supergroup Broken Social Scene. During the tour she was described by the New York Times as "a strong guitarist and a calmly arresting lead singer" and garnered praise for her incisive and direct performances and guitar ability, whilst the appreciation for Some Are Lakes continued to grow, increasing the appetite for a full length follow up.
Now it's here, Cloak And Cipher is sonically a step on from the debut, mostly due to a more prominent use of layers and textures - the kind first hinted at on the Fun & Laughter EP released late last year. As before, songs were mostly written and put together in isolation by Lizzie, though she swapped the analog four-track for Garageband, re-working and poring over riffs for upto two days to create the more expansive sound.
The lyrics were added last this time, some inspired by newspaper headlines, some from a novel Powell hated and censored relentlessly with a black marker till she found the phrases or words she wanted to extract from it. Others are thinly veiled personal confessions merged with dream-like imagery and all of them together, are delivered in a phrasing that only enhances that air, leaving you to wonder what parts are autobiographical and what parts were scavenged, edited, and collected magpie-like for their use in the songs (We'll have an interview with her shortly, so maybe we'll find out).
Let us know what you think of the new record, add your comments below.
Q Exclusive: Land Of Talk - Cloak & Cipher - full album stream by Qthemusic9:26 AM | 23/08/2010
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really, really great
Posted by sal at 5:43 AM | 29/08/2010 | Report Abuse
all
Posted by sal at 5:44 AM | 29/08/2010 | Report Abuse
Great, lovely sound scapes, love the vocal emotion.
I think it's more of a grower than Some Are Lakes.
Can't wait for UK gig dates!
Posted by Zoe Konez at 1:27 PM | 16/09/2010 | Report Abuse
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