{"id":74876,"date":"2019-01-18T14:00:39","date_gmt":"2019-01-18T14:00:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/?p=74876"},"modified":"2023-02-24T14:51:26","modified_gmt":"2023-02-24T14:51:26","slug":"review-a-a-williams-a-a-williams-ep","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/alreadyheard.com\/staging\/review-a-a-williams-a-a-williams-ep\/","title":{"rendered":"Review: A.A. Williams – A.A. Williams EP"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>At the end of last year, Holy Roar Records announced a mysterious new signing, a solo artist under the moniker A.A. Williams <\/strong>with a self-titled debut appearing imminently. Given the incredibly high standard of the label\u2019s recent output, it made sense to jump on social media, but a quick search revealed very little presence, only furthering the intrigue. Finally listening to the EP, you understand their approach, the music speaks for itself and it\u2019s very special indeed.<\/p>\n

As home to some punishingly heavy records, it comes as a surprise that Holy Roar signed an artist whose music sits on a different spectrum, but these four songs focus solely on the label\u2019s other great love, atmosphere. Calling them ballads or mentioning pianos and acoustic guitars does the music little justice. While such instrumentation is woven throughout, the musical soundscapes are layered around thudding percussion, strings, and Williams\u2019 alluring siren\u2019s voice. An approach that falls under the same haunting post-rock umbrella as Emma Ruth Rundle\u2019s darker second album, or indeed her band Marriages, although such comparison feels simplistic and shallow.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=d2GV3EyeWUM<\/p>\n

If you laid on your back and watched clouds boil across a turbulent sky, it might remind you of the way \u2018Cold<\/em>\u2019 evolves. A piano is joined by mournful guitars before beautiful vocals soar across like the breeze over a wintry fjord. The real mastery here is the addition of further elements, both metaphorically and stylistically. You hear folk music but feel the flickering of a campfire. Both \u2018Control<\/em>\u2019 and \u2018Terrible Friends<\/em>\u2019 share this trait, evoking a mixture of feelings you can\u2019t quite put your finger on, in very different ways. This laces the recording with hope, never becoming too sad or sombre. Leaving the quieter, dusky, more contemplative \u2018Belong<\/em>\u2019 to close the set.<\/p>\n

All four songs share a beautiful restraint, carefully eking out elements, never offering too much or too little. You can listen on repeat for hours and never feel like you\u2019ve explored it fully. A flawless, beautiful EP.<\/p>\n

5\/5<\/p>\n

‘A.A. Williams’<\/em>\u00a0EP by\u00a0A.A. Williams\u00a0<\/strong>is released 25th January on Holy Roar Records<\/strong>.<\/p>\n

A.A. Williams <\/strong>links:\u00a0Website<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook<\/a> |\u00a0Twitter<\/a><\/p>\n

Words by Ian Kenworthy (@WhisperingSand<\/a>)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

A. A. Williams lets here music speaks for itself\u2026 a flawless, beautiful EP.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":28,"featured_media":74877,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2269],"tags":[16410,15783,94,15621],"class_list":["post-74876","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-ep-review","tag-a-a-williams","tag-ep-reviews","tag-holy-roar-records","tag-ian-kenworthy"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nReview: A.A. Williams - A.A. Williams EP - Already Heard Staging<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"A. A. Williams lets her music speaks for itself. 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