Annelies Monsere "Helder" (à nouveau / encore)

929 - Annelies Monseré "7 ep"

1. 7
2. another morning
3. in love
4. shine
5. Rue de la Croix
6. Small Year
7. One Summer Night

All songs written, played and recorded by Annelies Monseré.

895 - Annelies Monseré "Somewhere Someone"

HIGHLY LIMITED RELEASE PACKAGED IN HANDSTAMPED, HANDWRITTEN SLEEVES* Somewhere Someone is Annelies Monsere's first proper solo output since 2005, and it all focuses on a narrow range of very simple, elemental organ tones, keyboards and chimes in conjunction with a Christina Carter-like voice. There are six beautiful songs assembled on this highly limited 7" release (just 185 copies for the world), beginning with the almost ecclesiastical sounding title track and continuing with the stark loneliness of 'Tree', complete with its waifish piano tones. once again the Christina Carter comparisons are bound to arise on 'A Solitude', which layers Monsere's voice in a startlingly chilly, gothic drone-folk fashion. The B-side brings slightly creepy xylophone tones on 'Golden', and while by rights this should bring a lightness to her music, the end result is downright spine-chilling - it's all so very sparsely laid out. 'A Darkness' and 'II' close proceedings with a more brooding, minor key minimalism, bringing together awkwardly stern violin motifs and piano keys for a most unsettling pair of songs. Excellent.
Boomkat

Cet EP laisse des effluves de poison nonchalant. S'endormir, pour ne pas se reveiller.
Magnifique.
Les fleurs (et leurs parfums) du mal, version musicale et (c)hantée.

All instruments by annelies monseré
Mastered by brian john mitchell
Limited to 185 copies, with handwritten and stamped artwork


somewhere someone
tree
a solitude
golden
a darkness
II

Morc Records

849 - Annelies Monseré "Helder"

Annelies Monseré is a songwriter and musician based in the beautiful city of Ghent in Belgium and her debut album is a singular, embracing experience that mixes timelessly stark songs with a seeming disregard for convention or precedent. 'Helder' feels like a handwritten diary fleshed out with sublime piano-led melodies and penetrating vocals that situate themselves close to Mariska Baars' Soccer Committee Or Cat Power's Chan Marshall, to whom she's often compared. When Monseré plays she allows each note to speak clearly and simply and toys with a childlike naivety which is impossible not to fall in love with. There are faint echoes of early Stina Nordenstam or Empress in Monseré's delivery and the weathered fingerprint of shoegaze is buried somewhere deep in the mix for good measure. 'Helder' opens with 'We'll Dance' - a slow-burning piece of unfettered emotion that's ineffably beautiful yet almost dangerously volatile at one and the same time, teetering on the brink of something you just can't quite put your finger on. The lyrics are uttered slowly and cautiously, like someone whispering quietly in your ear, and when the track comes to its satisfying close you find yourself deep into uncharted musical territory with a comfortingly familiar voice for company. With rumors that the second Annelies Monseré album will be released on Type Records next year it's worth catching up now - this is an undiscovered gem of a record that will haunt you for the weeks and months to come, just the kind of album to distract you from our rather disappointing summer. Essential purchase.

Boomkat

Mélancolique, fragile, délicat, austère, dépouillé, parcimonieux, sobre, abouti.... le premier alboume paru en 2005 est déjà un classique. Il ne tient qu'à vous de l'acheter en masse.

841 - Annelies Monsere & Jessica Bailiff" untitled ep"

Back in stock. For this gorgeous release, Kranky's Jessica Bailiff joins Belgian songwriter Annelies Monsere for a collaboration over four tracks of adventurous songwriting. The odd, zoned-out vocals of 'Common Ground' are set against a background noise of buzzing synthesizer tones and sombre cello strokes plotting out unfinished melodies. You might compare it to the droning folk songs of Fursaxa, or Islaja's experimental, misshapen songs. After a silky a cappella beginning, 'Let Time Breathe' accumulates a distorted chord sequence played out on electric guitar, giving a greater shape to the song than the unearthly drones of that first piece. The duo have a closer run in with a more recognisable kind of folk with the sinister, stop-start dynamics of 'Like Yesterday', held together by sparse acoustic guitar plucks and tentative string swells. The EP comes to an all-too premature close on 'Shadow', a beautiful - if surprisingly conventional - ballad, with bright synth oscillations cutting through the moroseness of the vocals and those bedraggled acoustic guitar strums. Here's hoping these two get around to recording a full album soon. Absolutely gorgeous.
Boomkat