Description:	CD on Little Red Rabbit Records, LTD 2 CD SET!!
	Format:	CD
	Genre(s):	Indie Rock
	Label:	Little Red Rabbit
	Price:	£11.29
	Availability:	Dispatched within 2-5 days (on average).

4
...according to our Phil on 18 February 2010.

Last Harbour are on those bands we've had a few bits in by and they've always passed me by. So much passes through the doors it's hard to listen to everything... there's not enough hours in the day. I've managed to hear this album twice now and I kinda like it! First off you'll be impressed by the full sound on offer and that's cos it's produced by local lothario Richard Formby who's a right producer. If you're a fan of baroque orchestral gothic orientated music ala Nick Cave, Tindersticks, Iliketrains, Angels Of Light you're probably gonna like this. It's very accomplished sounding considering how grandiose it is. I'm particularly enjoying the male and female vocals (almost call and response) on Sunken Bells. That's a lovely track. The album hangs around the maudlin end of music but if you like misery music like I do then this will be right up your alley. There's lots of strings all over the shop which really flesh the sound out and with the guys vocals (somewhere between Michael Gira and Stuart Staples). Excellent stuff!!

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Sound clips for Volo by Last Harbour: on CD at Norman Records UK. CD, Little Red Rabbit, LRR016, £11.29.

What their label says...

Based in Manchester, Last Harbour are an expansive collective featuring an array of classical instrumentation as well as guitar, bass and drums. Their new album Volo was co-produced by the band and Richard Formby (Wild Beasts, Herman Dune, Spacemen 3, Dakota Suite). From dusty laments to doom-filled rock, from starkly beautiful duets to drifting clouds of looped noise, there s always an intensity that strikes hard. It's a highly original record featuring the band s strongest songs and most creative arrangements of their career to date. The band's previous album 'Dead Fires and the Lonely Spark' (2008) was recorded to tape in a week with the band in full control. In deliberate contrast, 'Volo' was recorded piece by piece over a year in various locations and an early decision was taken that Formby alone would mix the results. That freed up the band's songwriting process. Very few of the songs were fully formed before recording began and many took shape and direction through the process of multi-layering instruments, loop creation and shifting arrangements. The album s title refers to a type of early 20th Century child's toy Ouija board and to the Latin word for 'a desire' or 'a will'. Both are a good fit. By relinquishing control of the record, Last Harbour have created a space for the unseen and unheard to become realised. Singer Kevin Craig may give form to those who populate his lyrics but it's unclear who is guiding the glass towards the letters that spell out the message. From the obsessive urges of the opening 'Mount Analogue' ( I'm a receiver/I hear your transmission ) to the impending collapse of 'If They're Right' ( She has one foot in the ocean/And the other at the threshold ) that closes the album, he brings the characters to life, also conjuring their images in his ornate woodcuts that adorn the artwork of this beautifully packaged record. Once recording was finished, the band handed over mixing duties to co-producer Richard Formby, who worked with an open remit and no instructions, placing a deliberate loss of control at the centre of the artistic process. Formby s only brief was that he should mix the record as he saw fit - whatever he came up with would be released without any further interference from the band. The result, born first of abandonment and then reconciliation, is 'Volo'.