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) I Found It Not SoCheval SombreStatic Caravan Records Released: 17th November 2008 Catalogue Number: VAN172
Because the night belongs to lovers, or in this case the remnants of love: some records are ideal listening for specific times of the day, and the latest languid single from Cheval Sombre is best savoured in the twilight. These two sides of softly building melancholia find Cheval Sombre teaming up with Sonic Boom, who lends production touches, and Dean Wareham (Galaxie 500, Luna...) and Britta Phillips (Luna). I Found It Not So and Where Did Our Love Go – a re-imagining of the Supremes' lovelorn plea – are coupled here on VAN172, a pairing of moonlit laments cloaked in hushed tones and quiet yearning. I Found It Not So is infused with a sense of sleepy reverie; a low-key lullaby which echoes and chimes while floating around your sub-conscious. While effects whoosh and soar, plangent guitar melodies creep and intertwine, moving to a warm climax. It’s all topped off with barely-there vocals, a whispered dream filled with a sense of longing which belies the almost post-coital atmosphere. Likewise, the low-key facsimile of Where Did Our Love Go licks off all traces of a sugary Motown coating and reveals a dark, vulnerable tale of loss, regret and desire. There’s a nocturnal intimacy audible in this bruised arrangement; stripped to the bare bones musically and emotionally, it somehow reconciles its brooding universe with the wistful mask of the original, wrapped in a somnambulant haze. I Found It Not So Where Did Our Love Go | |||
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