Author Archives: Olivia

2:54-Killer (cover.)

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“Is there still a part of you that wants to live.”

I’m going to try not to rant a lot about my love for 2:54 because, most are probably tired of it. It is pure love and admiration. They make me wish I could play an instrument and make haunting music. Instead I just write lyrics/poems that no one will ever see. Mainly because I’m ashamed. It’s weird, and it pisses me off. I don’t need telling that I’m being stupid, I already know. I really do.

I dislike covers. Well, I dislike covers that are badly done. I hate “talent” shows because it is generic and dull. You basically stand there, sing and you are either told you aren’t good enough or “you’re going to be a star.” We don’t need that. Yet most seem to love watching it. I don’t understand. So basically, 2:54 have taken one of the best songs of the 90s and made it incredibly haunting.

If you have their debut record (if you don’t, please buy it. Record of the YEAR!) you will be familiar with their eerie and hypnotising tones. Colette’s voice is easily one of the most distinctive and powerful voices around. Some may assume that being able to hit a stupidly high note means you are a strong vocalist, I don’t believe that. The strongest singers are the ones that give you so many feelings. The strongest are the ones that sing in a way that captivates you and grips you- you never want them to let you go.

Their take on Adamski/Seal’s track, Killer is nothing short of perfection. For me, the only way to do a cover well is to just make it your own. This is why I love it when the likes of Cat Power and The Kills cover songs, because they make you think THEY wrote the song. 2:54 do exactly that with their take on Killer. You fall for 2:54 even more when you listen to this, and you truly believe in the words again. I was only 5 years old when the original came out, but I remember being utterly obsessed with it. Now I am obsessed with 2:54’s version of this timeless song.

You can listen to the stunning cover here : http://soundcloud.com/twofiftyfour/2-54-killer

They’re also touring in November. If anyone wants to get me some tickets for the London date as an early birthday present, that will be most welcomed 😉

Neurotic Wreck.

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The colours in her eyes, paint the beach. How I wish that we could stay. It’s always quick, the moment dies. How I long for yesterday.”

You know how on cough medicine it tells you not to operate heavy machinery when you’ve taken it? Well, camomile tea should come with a warning too, “Olivia don’t attempt to write when you’ve had some because you’ll make no sense..” Or something like that. It’d probably be safer for me to drive a tractor right now.

Without sounding like a massive prick of life, I really love it when bands/singers email me their music. By no means do I think what I write is any good nor do I think my opinion should be valued; I just really love writing about bands no one has maybe not heard of. The stranger, the better.

There is something about atmospheric music such as Burial, The Weeknd and James Blake that makes you only want to listen to them at night. I have tried many times to listen to Burial during the day but I just can’t do it. It’s almost as if the meaning doesn’t stand-out until it is pitch black. As someone who is more alert at night (however I am close to falling asleep right now) music like this is just everything, and more.

St.Helens isn’t exactly known for having a thriving music scene (if I am wrong please tell me, and I’ll change that sentence) so when a producer from there emails you their music, you cannot help but be massively intrigued. Unlike most, I actually do listen to what I am sent. As I listen to Neurotic Wreck (much love for the name) I cannot help but feel the same way I did when I first heard Burial. I’m glad it is dark outside because I don’t think I’d take from it what I currently am if it was light outside.

Love and lust usually stir you at night-time. During the day you can fixate your thoughts onto something else. At night, it is like everything you try to push down comes back to either haunt, consume or mock you. Or you can let it go, and enjoy it. It depends really. Some people make it easy. Some make having emotions a chore. Cut them out. The right one finds you- you don’t find them.

Neurotic Wreck makes music that evidently comes from the heart. Oh but how can you tell? Easily. As you listen, his words seem to wrap themselves around your heart and make you feel something else. Something that one simply cannot put into words. You truly pick up on the strangeness of a David Lynch film in his music; yet you get the sheer vulnerability of a James Blake track in his voice.

So far (I will change my mind about 50 times) my favourite track has to be Tired Of Me. The general atmosphere of most songs here is quite eerie, but Tired Of Me takes it to a completely different level.

Neurotic Wreck make music for that lonely moment at 3am when the world is asleep and you have no idea what is going on. I could find thousands of more words to tell you as to why I love his music and why I think he’s nothing short of amazing; but instead you should just listen to his music. The music truly speaks for itself. What most lack, Neurotic Wreck has. Treasure him.

http://neuroticwreck.bandcamp.com/album/leave-tonight-mixtape-side-1

Saint Lou Lou.

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“If you’ve got an emptiness inside, you should let our worlds re-collide.”

I’m writing this based on one song I have heard by them and I’m 100% sure that this is enough for me to know that Saint Lou Lou are nothing short of amazing.

Music should make you drift off. I don’t care for where it may take you, but it should take you far away from where you are. Maybe because where you are is a bit rubbish, and anything can be seen as an escape. It takes you to a place where nothing and no one can really get to you. Sometimes you get really lucky and find that place physically too. Yet when you have to leave it behind for a while, you feel as if you are being torn apart. One day you will get to stay. One day it’ll go your way. Listen to the one you love, because they know. They just know.

Maybe You is such a gorgeous song. The kind of song that makes you want to sit alone (or with someone you are fond of) staring at the sea and ignoring everything around you. You both fall into this untouchable dreaming state. hit repeat to avoid the come-down. I’ve heard some strange songs this year, I’ve also heard some truly heartbreaking and beautiful songs- Maybe You can easily be placed in the best songs of the year. The intro immediately lures you in. You feel secure; as if nothing and no one in this world can harm you. Music can soothe and tame. Maybe You does exactly that.

When one song can make you believe in a band. Make you believe that they are going to keep making music that just blows your mind; then maybe it is worth trawling through some awful sounds to find this tiny bit of heaven.

Of course them being a duo (they’re also twins) is a big part of my love for them. I just love duos. For me, it is like they work so much harder. They make more noise, they sometimes play with more heart. More passion.

I can only hope that for the remainder of this year and years to come causes people to pay attention to Saint Lou Lou. They go beyond making music for you to believe in; they just make you feel part of it. That’s rare.

Rachel Zeffira-Break The Spell.

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You know how some people throw words around and they just lose meaning? When someone says someone is “beautiful” or if something is “perfect” it all loses its meaning after a while. These are two words that should be used very carefully and not often. Of course you can see beauty in most things, and some may say perfection doesn’t exist. Maybe it doesn’t, maybe it does. It is all a personal view. It’s like my view on time. I hate knowing the time. I think watches are awful. I hate being rushed; yet I seem to be early for most things. I like to wander. Usually when I shouldn’t. I also have a habit of going off track. Much like how I just have.

So today has been a bit shit (most days are when you live where I do) and it was improved a bit by hearing Rachel Zeffira’s new song. It was also improved by a massive nap and a person. I just love sleeping; mainly because I’m not bothering anyone.

Rachel’s voice is pure and wonderful. Her solo work (pre-Cat’s Eyes) and her work in Cat’s Eyes is just remarkable. Rachel and Faris have set up their own label, RAF Records which will be putting out Rachel’s debut record The Deserters on 10th December. If anyone wants to buy me a copy, I’ll be forever grateful.

Break The Spell keeps with the 60s girl group vibe that caused anyone to fall in love with Cat’s Eyes. Yes it is perfect, and yes it is beautiful.

You can get a free download of the song here : http://soundcloud.com/rachelzeffira/break-the-spell

Break The Spell features one of the best drummers around, Melissa Rigby ( S.C.U.M.) and also members from TOY. It showcases London and Canada’s finest.

Rachel will be playing St. Andrew Church (Holborn) on 18th October. Tickets: http://www.seetickets.com/Event/RACHEL-ZEFFIRA/St-Andrew-Holborn/658664

The XX-Coexist.

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“I wouldn’t do that to you. I wouldn’t just leave us alone.”

I’ve tried to listen to Coexist, but I get three tracks in and just want to cry. Let me tell you, nothing good comes from being sensitive or being able to relate. It’s awful and gets in the way. That said, if I was numb and unable to feel I’d hate that. Music moves you. The sounds and the words. They move you in a way nothing else can. Sometimes a person has the same hold on you. You can let go, or keep a grip on it. I won’t tell you what to do. I know what I’d do, if it was right.

Attempting to listen to Coexist when horrifically tired and a bit of whiskey in my system (I went out, I didn’t sit and drink it on my own) has made the process of listening to this record. This sounds like I hate The XX and their new record. Far from it. Their debut record dragged me out of a rut. Coexist makes certain feelings a lot more clearer. It is just an honest record that I think anyone who listens to it, will truly see themselves in it. It is a personal reflection that is much needed. Especially when most modern music is just abysmal.

Romy and Oliver’s voices as usual just sound like a peaceful dream. The record sends you off in some kind of trip; you don’t know. It makes you want to sit the one you adore down, and just say..”Look, I am utterly shit with words. And I’m probably an awful person but please listen to this record because I love you and it says all I cannot say right now.” It is so open and honest. The sheer purity of it is enough to break the hardest of hearts. You can only act tough for so long before someone sees through. Or you see through yourself.

Love is something we all lose, and something we all find. It never ends or maybe, it just never starts. You never truly know. Yet, when you listen to Coexist it is like you are in love. The only other band that do this are Beach House. Both bands make every feeling you posses so gentle and frail- even if it is eating you alive. Songs like Missing and Sunset go right through your heart and break you. Longing pours out in this record, with songs like Tide. Guess you can only cling for so long. With love, one always seems to love the other more. When you find that another loves you as much as you love them; that’s when you know. You just know.

It’s difficult to write about such a personal record without being personal. I need to stop relating, but with Coexist, it is hard to do anything but relate. Of course they’ve grown up since their debut record but they’ve kept the honesty and the ethereal vibe that caused you to fall in love with them the first time. Their songs are the definition of love and falling in love. It is easy to feel lust, but love is totally different.

Every song comes from the heart, which is why you believe in every single word. I love The XX because they use gender-free lyrics. Anyone can relate. There is no “he” or “she.” It is all “you.” Which makes it easy for the listener to identify with.

There are a billion things I could say about Coexist, but it has already been said. So I guess in short, probably the best record of the year.

TOY

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Even if you’ve had a really shitty year, you can find comfort in knowing that 2012 has seen the release of some amazing records. From 2:54 to Beach House to Crocodiles to The XX and now to TOY.

I’ve been in love with TOY since I first heard Left Myself Behind and found next to nothing about them on the internet. I saw a few people mention them, but no one us had any knowledge on them. Thing is, this isn’t a bad thing. I don’t want to know what a band did last night nor do I want to know what they had for lunch. However, I’d probably want to know what whiskey they favoured. That’s an important one.

Also this year, a lot of amazing debut records have come out. Yes my favourite is 2:54’s debut but in joint first place is TOY’s debut record. I haven’t written anything in a week because I’ve basically been having the time of my life in London/Liverpool. Now I’m back “home” I am utterly miserable so I’m killing time thinking of how to kill time. The desire to write was slipping away, then I started listening to TOY’s record. Fresh enthusiasm has hit me, and I’m probably going to rant like a mental person about this record.

All good music should take you somewhere else. It should make you feel as if you loved or just floating through time and space. It should make you feel as if nothing in the world matters. And in the big scheme of things, if you let go- then not much means much. Guess you got to hold on what is dear to you and let the rest go. TOY do exactly that. In fact, they go beyond. They make you feel as if you are wearing your best loud shirt and are sat under a tree on lazy sunny day in the 60s. It doesn’t feel current but at the same time, it feels like nothing else. Now I know they’re getting compared to one of the best bands ever, The Horrors. Maybe it is me being utterly dense but I don’t get it. I really don’t. I love bands like The Horrors and S.C.U.M but I’m honestly not getting the comparisons?! Maybe it is because I just refuse to acknowledge it. The only comparison I can get from this is, is that all bands have put out amazing music. Surely that’s enough. Anyway, I could go on about lazy (music) journalists until I turned blue and I ran out of words. But that’s a different matter.

What I love about TOY is that they make songs that last. With a lot of records you skip through, and only a few songs are memorable. Of course I love Dead & Gone and Kopter because they last well over 5 minutes, but every song on this record has the power to mean the world and more to the listener. This isn’t a record that you can listen to on shuffle. You have to play it straight through. You play it straight through and lose yourself. At the end of the record, you will find a part of you that has been missing for a while.

The record makes you feel like you are on some kind of trip. I’ve never touched drugs. I panic when I take paracetamol, but this record just soothes your mind and makes you drift away. You know how I compare everything in life to Seventeen Seconds by The Cure and Psychocandy by The Jesus And Mary Chain, well TOY have created the same atmosphere. I hope, with all I have, that this record is amongst the likes of Psychocandy and Seventeen Seconds. It has that pure and dark feel to it. It is utterly ethereal. If you dig the way Warpaint make you feel when you listen to them- like you are being held and gently swayed, then this is the record for you. You can either listen to it as you collapse onto your bed. Or you can let your body freak out and sway as you spin yourself round and round. See all the colours, feel all the words and just go somewhere beautiful.

To make a debut record like this is truly something else. It just makes you even more excited to hear more from them. Hypnotic and delicately moving.

You can catch TOY live very soon :

Fri 19 Oct Sheffied, Plug
Sat 20 Oct Birmingham, HMV Temple
Tues 23 Oct Norwich, Waterfront Studio
Wed 24 Oct London, Heaven
Thurs 25 Oct Southampton, Talking Heads
Sat 27 Oct Brighton, Green Door Store
Sun 28 Oct Manchester, Ruby Lounge
Mon 29 Oct Newcastle, Cluny
Tues 30 Oct Glasgow, Sleazy’s

Leigh Marble.

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“I know you wanna leave me,
Well I wanna leave me too.”

A singer doesn’t have to have sold 50 million records or sell out vile arenas in order for you to relate to them. Personally speaking, I cannot relate to someone singing in a fucking arena going on about how hard life is when they have been handed everything without even a fraction of despair, struggle and frustration. Most people are just money-making, blood-sucking hypocrites. Recent events have made me a bit angry, thus disliking so many. Some I know (sadly) and some that just…well they’re..shit. I know I’m awful but at least I don’t have a lying heart.

I love music that projects pain, honesty, love and all those ugly feelings. I cannot get my head around music that is “happy.” I’m not a miserable person, far from it. I’m presumed to be, so I just let them carry on. Just give me a book and some music.

There are only a few singer/song-writers that can project such ugly feelings in a way that makes them less vile, you know? You’ve got the likes of Townes Van Zandt to Shirley Manson to Bob Dylan to Lou Reed to Cat Power to Morrissey to Courtney Love. I’ve basically just listed my favourite singers.

Leigh Marble doesn’t write songs for those who want to hear 3 minute symphonies about cute puppies and pixies. No. Just no. Fuck that, it means nothing. He writes brutal and beautiful words from the heart. Before going into this, I read his bio THEN listened to his music; just to really feel the music deeper than I thought I would. His record, Where The Knives Meet Between The Rows was made during his (now) wife’s fight with breast cancer. A topic far too close to home for me, but shit..his words truly truly mean more knowing this. If I had heard this record a year ago, I probably would’ve dealt with my mum’s diagnosis in a better way. Basically, I wouldn’t have felt so..I don’t even know the word. But, Leigh’s wife is thankfully in remission and I wish them both all the happiness and health in the world.

Where The Knives Meet Between The Rows is a record I feel everybody needs to here. Even if it is just the once, that’s enough. I just want you to hear it : http://music.leighmarble.com/album/where-the-knives-meet-between-the-rows

I love dark music. Music that comes from a place where no one dares to go because they turn into a coward. The bravest thing a person can do is face anything and everything that troubles them. The first track on the record, Walk is one that I think I find the most connection with. I know what it is like to just walk and walk and walk until every bit of rage and any fucked up feeling leaves you. When something/someone gets to me, I usually just stick my headphones in and go for a walk. Or I go to the gym and walk forever on the treadmill. I just shut off, and go somewhere where nothing and no one can touch me. It’s comforting to know someone else feels the same. Even when you feel like you are the only one.

I want to get into Nail. Nail is 7 and a half minutes of honesty and heartbreak. You can feel every feeling possible. Take what you want from it. That’s probably all you can do. We all know someone who’s at the end of their rope, and we want to be at the end for them- telling them to keep going. I’d rather be that person than be the one wanting to reach the end. It’s easier to help another than help yourself. You can shut off when you’re being useful to another. When you see yourself as useless, you just want to call it quits.

I mean sure we do have some artists around that write dark songs just to seem “cool” but they don’t even believe a word they are singing. Fuck them. Don’t listen to them no more. Just stop. With Leigh, you know he believes in his words. And because you can pick up on that; you believe in him too. Being believable is better than being admired or whatever. You can admire anyone. But not many are believable. Maybe I’ve got it all wrong, but that’s just how I see it.

His music makes you take a look at yourself, and how you face your own battles. He makes you love the one you love even more, although you think you can’t. Sure it is overwhelming, but most good things in life are. He just leaves you in awe. I could quite happily sit here and type a summary about every song he’s ever done. I could analyse every lyric and tell you why it is so important. I could go on and on. I just think he’s fucking brilliant. It’s been a while since I felt this strange but wonderful connection to a singer. It’s good feeling, one most need to feel more often need to feel.

If you’re afraid of the dark feelings; stop. Just listen to his words. They’ll act like a reflection, and maybe you’ll feel less alone.

Dear Shirley Manson : A Birthday Letter.

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I have no problem with baring my soul, on a page. So I guess this is why I feel with it being Shirl’s birthday, I’m going to write this down. From me to her. Maybe she’ll see it, maybe she won’t. But sometimes you just have to let it out.

Dear Shirley Manson,

I’m not going to be the first or last person to say words similar to what I’m about to write. That alone proves how much of a force you are. You’ve made emotional pain and general emotions less of a chore to deal with. You’ve made demons easier to fight off. You’ve made being an outsider feel less daunting. You made it easier for acceptance of the self.

I was about 8 or 9 when I first saw Garbage on TV. It was when MTV actually played music videos, I know- so rare! I remember seeing the video to Vow and being in utter of the band. Like most, I was drawn to how fearless you appeared on camera. Then I saw Only Happy When It Rains and Stupid Girl. That was it; everything changed after seeing those videos; listening to those songs. Every song you have ever written means more to me than I can even put into words. The Trick Is To Keep Breathing fast became a mantra almost. No matter what, you’ve got to keep going. Even if you just want to stop. And I do wish I could, guess I can’t. You taught me that. I’d rather burn out and try start again. Fight comes from a place that most of us cannot go. Sometimes another person brings it all out of us. I firmly believe you have done that.

I remember skipping college to go and buy Bleed Like Me the day it came out in 2005. I remember that day so clearly. I was nearly 20 years old, and no part of me wanted to go any further. From ages 15 to around then, no part of me understood the point of anything. I held the record in my hands so tightly, and went home. I sat and played it over and over. Growing up is exhausting. I was exhausted. Run Baby Run and Right Between The Eyes did something to me that I’ll never be able to put into words. I guess you can say, they saved my life. Those two songs keep me going. I may be stubborn, and I may not listen to some people, but the words in those songs ignited something. It goes beyond words. Sure I still get miserable; but it’s okay. You taught me how to not be afraid of ugly feelings. You taught me how it is okay to be weak and vulnerable. No one can be strong all the time. Christ knows I like to act like I am though.

Your words are the light at the end of that fucking long tunnel. Being a fan of Garbage doesn’t mean just enjoying the music. It means it gives us something to believe in. And we all need that. I’m not the only one who can say that you saved my life. Knowing others feel the same makes everything less scary, and possibly worth it. Possibly. The older I get, the more I seem to be able to relate to your words. They say being a teenager is hard, but I know being an adult is enough to drive anyone mad. Are you meant to figure stuff out at 25? Because I know nothing. Maybe knowing nothing is the way to go.

Every Garbage song has provided guidance. Every Garbage song has been the security blanket at 4am when there was nothing else. People like you Shirl, well they give hope to those who truly are without. Your voice eases the soul and your words have healed wounds. Old wounds that have been opened up, new wounds that one thinks may never heal.

I still live in hope that one day..one day I get to see Garbage live. Being piss poor is starting to take its toll. But one day, I’ll be at the front. I’ll sing every word as if they were meant for me, and the day after I will have no voice. I will ease the pain by having a small glass of whiskey.

I love seeing photos of you with bands that I love, such as Dum Dum Girls and The Kills. When I saw those photos, I felt like a child at Christmas. You’re such a wonderful force.

This is just the outline of how much I look up to you, and respect you. I’m glad at 8 years old, I saw you on MTV singing the songs that would later become my lifeline.

We shouldn’t fear what we feel. We shouldn’t be afraid to feel. Be kind, be honest, be yourself, find inner peace. That’s what your words have taught me.

Your words have guided me in and out of love, teenage angst, adult insecurities, the good times, the bad times, letting go, holding on. Everything and more.

So, Happy Birthday Shirley. I hope you have the best day possible, you deserve it.

All the love in the universe,

Olivia.

xxxx

Aaliyah.

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“I want people to remember me as a full on entertainer and a good person.”

 

I remember the day it happened. It’s nothing something you forget is it? But, I also remember the very first time I saw her on MTV. I was only 8 or 9 years old. 94/95. I was watching MTV and they were playing some new music videos. Back And Forth came on, and I was hooked. I couldn’t tear my eyes away from the screen. There was this beautiful person singing, and she was dressed like a tomboy, you know? From that moment, I became a fan. She became more than a role model. I cannot count the times where her songs have dragged me through hell and back. It wasn’t her lyrics so much, it was her voice. A voice that made you believe everything was going to be alright. She was like no one else around. There is no one else around like her. She was truly truly One In A Million; and I know we’ll never have anyone as beautiful and wonderful as her again. It took a long long time to not dwell on her death and her not being here. When I listen to her music, I feel lucky to have been a fan (and still am) of someone so precious and angel-like. My mum always promised she would take me to an Aaliyah concert when I was younger. It won’t happen in this lifetime, but in the next one I know it will. She was so rare, and I will always believe that the music industry will never be able to fill the gap she left when she died 11 years ago today. We’ll always have the music, because in the end it is the sounds that they create that stay with us for the rest of time.

I hope you’re at peace Aaliyah, wherever you are.

All the love in the world.

xxxx

The Long Wives- The Trinity.

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“Her name is Jezebel, and I once knew her well. But time changes all.”

Some time ago, I wrote about a beautiful singer/song-writer from Los Angeles. Most bands that I love that come from the West Coast have a certain sound, you can just tell they are from there. That’s why I love them. However, with The Long Wives she truly sounds like someone who lives in the depths of a dark and eerie forest. Her music makes you feel like you are the only one that can hear her. That’s she’s all yours. This goes beyond being personal. This is EVERYTHING.

The Trinity is heartbreaking. I’m talking Cat Power’s Metal Heart kind of heartbreaking mixed with Townes Van Zandt’s Waiting Around To Die. The kind that hits you right in the gut. My love for Brandy is based on how dark and open her songs are. She makes the piano sound so desperate and longing. You cling onto every word, because every word resides inside you. Sadness is something we try to shy away from, but sometimes you’ve got to let it happen to you. The darkness is something you can run from. You can let it consume you, or you can face it. Do your worst if you must.

The Trinity shows Brandy’s voice in a way previous songs haven’t. Songs such as Judas Hex (my personal favourite) and Tongue do pour out such raw emotion. All her songs do, of course. But there is something..something about The Trinity that just stays with you. Maybe you see yourself in it. Maybe you can see someone else in it. It makes any hurt you’ve felt in recent times fade away. In time, most things just fade away. Eventually it will all be dust, and a distant memory. Longing, love and lust. It’s there, but not in sight. Just in mind.

I know I’m being biased, but out of all the music I found this year I hold The Long Wives very very dear to me. When you find a band or a singer that can unleash what you feel better than you ever could; that’s when you know you have found something permanent. I know nothing ever lasts, but music gives you hope that it will. There’s something entirely romantic about it all. The Long Wives give you so much. Hope being the main feeling. Something that is needed by most, if not all.

You can listen to this gorgeous and ethereal track here : http://soundcloud.com/thelongwives/the-trinity-the-long-wives