My Heart Has a Wish That You Would Not Go Away

My Heart Has a Wish That You Would Not Go Away
Label: Chemikal Underground
Length: LP
Rated: NONE
Website: http://www.aereogramme.co.uk/
Release Date: 2007-02-13
Media: CD
Format: Album
WorkNameSort: My Heart Has a Wish That You Would Not Go Away
Like its Glasgow neighbor Mogwai, Aereogramme traditionally alternates between placid spells and billowing noise. On last year’s Seclusion, the quartet delved into sludgy doom metal, bolstering its extreme volume shifts with heavier tones. My Heart Has a Wish will have conditioned fans flinching for a sonic punch that never arrives. Once it becomes clear that these acoustic guitars, animated piano melodies, minimalist loops and layered harmonies will never culminate in cacophony, listeners can appreciate My Heart, a gorgeous chamber-pop departure, on its own merits. However, the gentler instrumental approach doesn’t mean milder subject matter. Singer Craig B, his voice quivering as if the words passing through his throat were serrated, repeatedly makes gloomy pronouncements such as ‘I’m dead in the waterâ?� and ‘My head is caving in.â?� During ‘Nightmares,â?� a track that bolsters its cinematic suspense with dire symphonic strings, he sings, ‘Only love can save me now,â?� and he sounds anything but optimistic.

This article appears in Feb 7-13, 2007.