The title track, which also lifts the curtain on Last Harbour’s latest album which is an introspective and intimate affair, immediately invites comparisons to Michael Gira’s later work as a solo artist, with Angels of Light and even latter day Swans. K Craig’s rich, baritone drone plays a large part in this: the similarity is truly remarkable. It’s not just the sonorous baritone: the inflection, too, is comparable. But equally significantly, like Gira’s more stripped-down compositions, the song’s core is a simple chord sequence that derives a spellbinding intensity not from volume or crescendo or sonic force, but through simple repetition and understated epic qualities and colossal depth and reverb.
There’s a lightness of touch to the piano-led ‘Never’ that’s beguiling, even heart-warming on account of its richness, in the context of an album that’s decidedly chilly. Cleansed of the many layers of its predecessor, ‘Volo’, ‘Your Heart, It Carries the Sound’ still succeeds in creating a resonant depth and detailed sound. It also manages to pack the kind of drama commonly associated with Nick Cave.
The remarkably ‘Catherine Rising’ has a folk-chant feel to it, and forms a bridge between the intimate confessional of ‘Replacements’, which occasions one of the album’s few moments of volume, and to powerful effect. Amidst the maelstrom, K Craig remains solid, stoic, brooding.
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This is fundamentally the album’s leitmotif: the spare – but never shallow or predictable instrumentation – serves as a dolorous foil for Craig’s resonant, cavernous singing. ‘The Stars Look Down’ exemplifies the perfect synergy between the poised drama of the rolling piano and guitars and the controlled tension of the vocals.
Each track is a miniature epic that enmeshes the listener in sonic tendrils and refuses to let go. Enigmatic and subtly powerful, ‘Your Heart, It Carries the Sound’ is a remarkable album that shows Last Harbour are a band who are still growing. While ‘Your Heart, It Carries the Sound’ signifies a new peak, the signs are that their best work could still be ahead of them.
Last Harbour Online
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