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Such is the exceptionally sparse nature of Agnes Obel’s debut album that it slips by almost unnoticed lest you lend it a distraction-free, focused ear. It is highly advisable you do so: the compositions that lie within are slow, sombre, sepulchral even, but not without a sense of occasionally singular beauty. A case in point is Riverside, which follows the instrumental Falling, Catching as the first song proper. Entirely built around piano and voice, its soft pleas for solitude and escape are utterly disarming, Obel’s mournful lyric as chilled as the body of water she’s inexplicably drawn to.
Philharmonics is a resolutely early hours affair; a kind of Scandinavian counterpart to the British duo Felix’s wonderful You Are the One I Pick of last year. But where that record generally eschewed structure in favour of dark flights into the surreal, Obel keeps things tight and lean here. Such elements as percussion and auxiliary instrumentation rarely impinge on these songs, and when they do it is sometimes difficult to tell (one notable exception being her meditative cover of John Cale’s I Keep a Close Watch, here simply titled Close Watch).
Oddly for an album that dabbles in such twilit, shadowy waters, it supplied communications giant Deutsche Telekom with music for their recent advertising campaign in Germany, which is where the Copenhagen-born Obel now resides. Just So is the track in question, and while its bright melodies and straightforward lyrics sit at odds with the surrounding, songs like this and Brother Sparrow do furnish Philharmonics some much-needed lightness.
Elsewhere, the title-track engages and unsettles in equal measure, returning to the theme of inescapable tides that opened the album (its first line is particularly striking – "Guess who died last night," Obel coos), while Over the Hill is probably the most traditionally pretty song at a slight three minutes. Obel’s sedative tones are the constant, and though Philharmonics’ deliberate arrangements veer close to the lugubrious at times, they’re capable of some genuinely mesmeric turns.
--James SkinnerFind more music at the BBC This link will take you off Amazon in a new window
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
33 of 36 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Agnes Obel is a Danish singer/songwriter and her album
'Philharmonics' is a perfect little wonder. In some ways it's like
a 17th century Dutch still life of a few household objects laid out
on a well-worn kitchen table : a water jug, a pewter tankard, a loaf
of bread, a dead hare. A glimpse of a life lived simply; a quiet
autobiographical snapshot. Nothing can be added or subtracted
without losing the integrity of the whole. A frozen private world.
Ms Obel has the kind of voice which could easily blow away in
a strong wind and her compositions come and go like half-seen,
half-heard spirits in the heart of an Autumn bonfire's dying embers.
There are a dozen pieces in the set. Ephemeral, fragile and devoid
of any kind of artifice or unnecessary decoration. The intensity she
conjures from the most modest of musical means is astonishing.
Voice, piano, occasional additional subtle instrumentation and
percussion. The project is a sustained effort of will to exclude any
element which might disturb the still surface of the sonic waters.
Title track 'Philharmonics' is an especially beguiling example of the
kind of beauty it is possible to create when the ego is kept in check.
A haunting waltz-time arrangement blessed with some enchantingly
limpid vocal harmonies. It comes and goes like a fleeting daydream.
'Riverside' is a fine song. A ballad whose bare bones are as old as
Methuselha. The folk roots of the melody have a childlike profundity
which speaks to us of lost times and distant ancestral voices.
'Brother Sparrow', too, hints at something far deeper than its
uncluttered raiments initially suggest. A delightful idea, touchingly realised.
Final track 'On Powdered Ground' brings the album
to a stately and quietly majestic close.
Now that she is with us in the listening world Agnes Obel deserves
to be heard. 'Philharmonics' is a truly stunning debut album.
These timeless songs are built to last!
Essential.
'Philharmonics' is a perfect little wonder. In some ways it's like
a 17th century Dutch still life of a few household objects laid out
on a well-worn kitchen table : a water jug, a pewter tankard, a loaf
of bread, a dead hare. A glimpse of a life lived simply; a quiet
autobiographical snapshot. Nothing can be added or subtracted
without losing the integrity of the whole. A frozen private world.
Ms Obel has the kind of voice which could easily blow away in
a strong wind and her compositions come and go like half-seen,
half-heard spirits in the heart of an Autumn bonfire's dying embers.
There are a dozen pieces in the set. Ephemeral, fragile and devoid
of any kind of artifice or unnecessary decoration. The intensity she
conjures from the most modest of musical means is astonishing.
Voice, piano, occasional additional subtle instrumentation and
percussion. The project is a sustained effort of will to exclude any
element which might disturb the still surface of the sonic waters.
Title track 'Philharmonics' is an especially beguiling example of the
kind of beauty it is possible to create when the ego is kept in check.
A haunting waltz-time arrangement blessed with some enchantingly
limpid vocal harmonies. It comes and goes like a fleeting daydream.
'Riverside' is a fine song. A ballad whose bare bones are as old as
Methuselha. The folk roots of the melody have a childlike profundity
which speaks to us of lost times and distant ancestral voices.
'Brother Sparrow', too, hints at something far deeper than its
uncluttered raiments initially suggest. A delightful idea, touchingly realised.
Final track 'On Powdered Ground' brings the album
to a stately and quietly majestic close.
Now that she is with us in the listening world Agnes Obel deserves
to be heard. 'Philharmonics' is a truly stunning debut album.
These timeless songs are built to last!
Essential.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Beautiful album, but not easy to find in the UK. She has the purest voice and some wonderful calm, mellow songs, full of feeling. I'm off to her concert in a couple of weeks. Can't wait.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Audio CD
Agnes Obel certainly does not sound like inexperienced debutant but Philharmonics is in fact her very first full album. And what an album. It has a very unique atmosphere and feel to it. After one listen you will probably be hooked - I was.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Excellent album from a very strong femail vocal
Agnes Obel? Never heard of her. This turned up one afternoon when I had nothing better to do than try out Amazons recommendation. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Derek Winstone
I love Agnes Obel...
...but... the package arrived and the inside thing was broken (that bit that you have to press to release CD) so I had to send it back and get a replacement. Which arrived in tact. Read more
Published 1 month ago by uhhhh....
Beautiful
A really lovely album. For the most part beautiful. If the first track does nothing for you then back to the boy bands with you! Read more
Published 3 months ago by D. G. Kemp
Mesmerising
This is seriously mellow, and seriously different. Danish singer Agnes Obel has a soft but hauntingly expressive vocal style, and the melodies are subtle but very hard to clear... Read more
Published 4 months ago by K's Choice Fanatic
would give this 6 stars if i could
She has such a beautiful voice and the lyrics are also gorgeous. If you want to buy it but its not available here - they have the CD on play.com for £6.50
Published 4 months ago by MonaLisaSmiles
Mrs LD
I heard Riverside played on radio 2 and loved it from the start. so buying the cd has not disappointed. Its a lovely gentle experience.
Published 5 months ago by Mrs. L. M. Dicken
Be sure to get the Deluxe edition
If you like Eleanor Rigby by the Beatles, then there's a very good chance you'll like this... especially if you really like the the background arrangement of cellos and... Read more
Published 5 months ago by D. Taylor
Beautiful
After picking this album at random I have not been disappointed. It is beautifully recorded with an even flow between tracks both when played in order and on random. Read more
Published 5 months ago by Ustelle
Sorry but Just Don't !!
I am very open minded about all music forms and bought this taking into account the reviews. Two great lessons I have learnt. 1. Read more
Published 6 months ago by sam
Absolutely Gorgeous!
2011 re-release from the singer/songwriter. Originally from Copenhagen but now living in Berlin, Agnes was influenced by Roy Orbison, Sonic Youth and Eric Satie. Read more
Published 10 months ago by DP
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