Elena Setién - Another Kind Of Revolution

by Adrian P

published: 26 / 3 / 2019

Elena Setién - Another Kind Of Revolution

Label: Thrill Jockey
Format: CD

On her first album for Thrill Jockey - but third in all – Spain’s Elena Setién carves out lustrous arrangements around her elegant compositions

Review

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 You
2 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