Elena Setién - Another Kind Of Revolution
by Adrian P
published: 26 / 3 / 2019

Label:
Thrill Jockey
Format: CD
intro
On her first album for Thrill Jockey - but third in all – Spain’s Elena Setién carves out lustrous arrangements around her elegant compositions
Very much an internationalist concern, the Spanish-born Elena Setién makes a virtue of both her cultural heritage and global associations on this third LP. Although not your most typical new addition to the Thrill Jockey roster, Setién is certainly a charismatic and skilled songcrafter who broadens the long-running label’s range even further. Lyrically inspired but not weighted-down by her time growing-up amongst the political upheavals of Spain’s Basque region in the post-Franco 1980s, this new album is built with lush and layered organic structures. Featuring her own multi-instrumentalist turns on piano, Wurlitzer, violin, drums and percussion augmented by guest spots from Steve Gunn (guitar), Andreas Fuglebæck (guitar) and Mikel Azpiroz (synth), this is a collection that wins heavily on its arrangements before you even get to Setién’s smouldering tones and the intelligent wordplay baked within. It’s a trip that takes a variety of routes without getting too tangled in its multiple-trajectories. The most immediately ear-catching pieces - 'The Wheel That Drives You', 'Down The Meadow', 'Far From The Madding Crowd' and the title-track - come attractively forged in warm cosmopolitan baroque opulence. Elsewhere, spectral Laurie Anderson minimalism is invoked on the inner-space oddities of 'Window One' and 'Window Two (For Sigurd And Albert)'; music box-like pirouetting drives along 'Sail Down The River'; the terrific twang and prowl of 'Old Jamie'cross-references Tarnation’s marvellous Mirador; and 'She Was So Fair' closes proceedings with languid Mazzy Star-meets-Marissa Nadler foggy expansiveness. Esoteric yet inviting and ambitious but intimate, this is an impressive – and no doubt for many belated– introduction to the world of Elena Setién, which will undoubtedly unfurl even more of its internal mysteries on each additional airing.
Track Listing:-
1 The Wheel That Drives You2 Another Kind Of Revolution
3 Window One
4 Sail Down The River
5 Old Jamie
6 Down The Meadow
7 Far From The Madding Crowd
8 We See You Shining For A While
9 Window Two (For Sigurd And Albert)
10 She Was So Fair
Label Links:-
http://www.thrilljockey.com/https://www.facebook.com/ThrillJockey
https://twitter.com/thrilljockey
most viewed articles
current edition
Deb Googe and Cara Tivey - InterviewJack Frost - As Seen on TV
Nils Petter Molvaer - El Molino, Barcelona, 24/4/2025
John McKay - Interview
Editorial - July 2025
Robert Forster - Interview
When Rivers Meet - Waterfront, Norwich, 29/5/2025
Kruder and Dofmeister - Paral-lel 62, Barcelona, 27/4/2025
Skunk Anansie - Old Market, Brighton, 16/5/2025
Yardbirds - Des Plaines Theater, Des Plaines, 18/4/2025
most viewed reviews
current edition
Davey Woodward - Mumbo in the JumboVultures - Liz Kershaw Session 16.06.88
Billy Nomates - Metalhorse
HAIM - I Quit
Vinny Peculiar - Things Too Long Left Unsaid
Peter Doolan - I Am a Tree Rooted to the Spot and a Snake Moves Around Me,in a Circle
Pulp - More
Garbage - Let All That We Imagine Be The Light
Morcheeba - Escape The Chaos
Little Simz - Lotus
Pennyblackmusic Regular Contributors
Adrian Janes
Amanda J. Window
Andrew Twambley
Anthony Dhanendran
Benjamin Howarth
Cila Warncke
Daniel Cressey
Darren Aston
Dastardly
Dave Goodwin
Denzil Watson
Dominic B. Simpson
Eoghan Lyng
Fiona Hutchings
Harry Sherriff
Helen Tipping
Jamie Rowland
John Clarkson
Julie Cruickshank
Kimberly Bright
Lisa Torem
Maarten Schiethart