| The sad, beautiful brainchild of This Mortal Coil founder Ivo Watts-Russell, the Hope Blister draw on a solid lineup instead of implementing a collaborative, revolving door approach. While that makes for more consistent results than TMC, it also results in a certain uniformity of sound. But if you already spend your life dwelling pensive and aloof in shadowy corners, sickened by the sham happiness of the crowd, the Hope Blister's monochromatically blue universe is one in which you'll feel right at home. The music of the debut, the all-covers smile's ok, is built up from a string quartet consisting of cello, viola and violin, with bassist Laurence O'Keefe filling in for second violin. Playing their instruments with an implacable sense of calm restraint, they thread each musical strand into place without ever pulling them taut. Over this loose netting of sound and space, Louise Rutkowski reinterprets songs from John Cale, Brian Eno and labelmates Souldive. Find Hope Blister cds and Hope Blister records on 4AD Records. |
