Heather Duby
Post To Wire

Singer-songwriter originally from Portland but residing in Seattle, Heather Duby draws her main inspiration from the ethereal warbles of Enya with a somewhat more gloomy taste, so much so that it remotely recalls the litanies of Nico. The arrangements, entrusted to producer Steve Fisk (also a co-author of some tracks), are undoubtedly eccentric, sophisticated, and meticulous, with a frequently present trip-pop flavor, as well as the pronounced rumble of the bass (according to the tradition of the genre), dark and menacing, that hovers over much of the compositions. There is also ample use of electronics, which buzzes around Duby's vocal acrobatics.

"Post To Wire" is the debut album, dating back to '99. It begins with a commercial track (or at least the most commercial of the ten), not even too original but enjoyable. Surely with its relentless drum-machine rhythm, "Judith" could have made its way into the trendiest nightclubs, marvelously enhanced by the singer's incredibly sensual voice. But already the next track, "Kensington Palace", transports us to more rarefied and evocative territories: languid singing and caressing piano punctuated by a rhythm always trip-hop in the distant background, and a light and velvety refrain. The hypnotic minimalism of synth that opens "Falther" steers the album on even more experimental paths, towards a night sea populated by sirens. The strong point is, as always, the voice, which gives the track an almost "ambient" air, used as if it were an instrument. The following "For Jeffrey" shows the greatest similarities with Enya's visions, stunned by a rhythm from a medieval madrigal, and celestial keyboard swirls, caressed by an otherworldly singing. "September", on the other hand, is a desert-like ballad, with reverberated drums marking an anemic time amidst gloomy guitar tolls, bringing to mind sidereal and boundless spaces. All of this is the fitting prelude to the album's masterpiece, the splendid "Halo Sky" (almost nine minutes), an enthralling and almost esoteric dance that beguiles with its tribal percussion lost in a thousand reflective synth games, a magical altar on which the malevolent enchantress of Seattle rises, reaching expressive peaks of rare beauty.

If you are fans of gothic and trip-pop (read: Portishead and Lycia) you will surely be struck by this album's enchanting abilities.