Laura Misch: Lithic
A review of the new album by London based saxophonist, composer and singer Laura Misch
Laura Misch
Lithic
One Little Independent Records
Inspired to pick up the saxophone by Lisa Simpson (“she was the only female saxophonist I new back then”), London-based composer, singer, and instrumentalist Laura Misch loves to take from landscape and put it in song. Previously she’s made recordings — Sample The Earth and Sample The Sky — where the clue was most overtly in the title.
For Lithic, the clue is still there, though you may need to, erm, dig…a little deeper…
Calling this her “Rock” album, Misch made soundscapes and rhythms out of recordings in caves and quarries and then applied her treated synth, sax and vocals — and you could be forgiven for thinking Annie Lennox ran off to make an ambient album with William Basinski!
Lithic features a great range of insular moods from the Portishead/Lamb chill of Scrolls, to The xx goes fully beat-less Kairos, via an instrumental opener (Breathing) and the almost (late period) Joni Mitchell-like Scrolls:
Something about this album pairs so well for me with the recent Julian Barwick/Mary Lattimore album:
I guess it’s a similar weight of (secular) spiritual heft and depth. Here, Misch seems to give actual voice (lyrics and all) to a feeling and mood that many (predominantly) female musicians (Hollie Kenniff, IOWA, Lucy Gooch, Barwick, Lattimore…et al) have been circling in recent work. (That includes the duo recordings Brian Eno has been releasing with Beatie Wolfe).
Something so calming too about Misch’s voice:
As with many of the other composers and performers named just above, Misch has an incredible way of taking the natural elements, the environment that has largely been all around us, but we now feel like we need to make planned escape to, but still harnessing a very digital technological reliance (albeit for good!)
Her explorations in sound and song feel like a respite stop, a chance to breathe, to pause, and embrace contemplation.
This album is exquisite. My new favourite.
