Ivy – Ivy

Ivy

Artist: Ivy
Title: All Hours
Record Label: Nettwerk
Rating: 7.0
Forming in 1994 and made up of band members that span two continents, Ivy has a glorious past that spans five full length albums including the band’s latest release ‘All Hours’. Ivy consists of two members from New York, Adam Schlesinger and Andy Chase, who also perform in Foundations of Wayne and on vocals Dominique Durand, who hails from Paris.

‘All Hours’ is the trio’s first album in six years and is an album built on subtle synth notes and low slung bass with hints of tantalizing piano lines that interlink with understated guitar riffs. The three piece’s latest record conveys an air of sophistication, which can be credited to the wonderful vocals of Durand and the whimsical orchestration that supports her wistful singing.

‘All Hours’ has the tendency to sound remarkably similar to fellow French exports, Air, as most tracks on the LP contain a certain lounge pop quality to them. The music maybe laid back at times, however, Durand’s delicate vocals deliver lyrics that carry the themes of paranoia, suspicion and frustration. This is documented in track ‘You Make It So Hard’ as Durand sings of a nameless person ‘You make me so crazy, you never cease to amaze me’ all to an upbeat drum beat shuffle and 60s guitar riff. It’s not all doom and gloom, as upbeat track ‘Lost in the Sun’ which carries the relaxed theme of being bathed in sunlight and declarations of feeling alive.

‘All Hours’ is an album of carefree nature and dreamy soundscapes, which at times blend into one. The perfect soundtrack to a moment of calm in a frantic world.

Words and Thoughts of Adam Williams