This is the debut full-length from this artist, who I'm not at all familiar with, and included are 12 rather succinct tracks consisting very largely of piano and Singer's somewhat faint and high-pitched singing, which has a whispered sort of quality to it. As I've mentioned in the past I've never been particularly fond of piano/vocal compositions, and I feel the same about this, but I can definitely give credit where due, as there are some nice little passage and compositions here. Though somber in large part, certain little bits and pieces come off as too oddly upbeat or almost cheesy to me in a way, however. I can't explain it, there's no humor or lightheartedness here, but something about a few elements of the piano playing hits me in a weird way that I associate with really bland styles of music that I'm not into at all. Theremin is used in "Tying Shoes/Climbing Stairs", but I find it to be somewhat disruptive overall, not really providing any benefit to the piece. And operatic styled female singing takes the lead in "Between My Lips, Which Did Sing", but again, I'm not fond of that singing style, so despite a nice change of pace it does little for me. "Asthma/Rivers in Water" brings back the theremin and blends it with a sort of abstract classical vibe, and I actually think that works a bit better somehow. I'm still not wild on the theremin, but... it does work more effectively in this one. As expected with such a minimal release the recording is really quite tasteful. Everything sounds great, in fact. I like how the vocals are softly placed against the piano, which dominates the sound completely and really resonates well with a lot of dense warmth. The disc is housed in a matte chipboard digipack with very minimal textures and clean text printed over it for a very simple yet attractive appearance. No lyrics are included, just credits and such. Overall the minimalism of this one is very pleasing, even though I'm not all that impressed by the songs. The darker and sparser like intro/outro pieces (sharing the title "...") are quite cool, while some of the more melancholy tracks are also nice, but everything feels so succinct - only a few songs top three minutes, which feels almost underdeveloped at times. This is a true tossup. There's nothing bad about it, just some elements that are lacking, despite some curious positive traits as well.
[Tell-All]
Running time - 26:03, Tracks: 12
[Notable tracks: ..., Water Rushing at You, Asthma/Rivers in Water, ...]
Tell-All Records - http://www.tellallrecords.com
