The Derbyshire trio Haiku Salut consist of multi instrumentalists Gemma and Sophie Barkerwood, and Louise Croft. They play instrumental folktronica and are influenced by a variety of genres including pop and minimalism. Their music has been likened to artists such as Beirut, Sigur Ros, Aphex Twin, and the soundtrack to the French film Amelie. After showcasing their potential with their debut EP, How We Got Along After the Yarn Bomb in 2011, the band followed this up with their debut album, the beautiful Tricolore in March 2013, to positive reviews. Additionally, their visual live shows have increased their reputation, including lamps that flicker in time to the music. Following festival appearances at Indietracks and Green Man Festival, they release their anticipated sophomore album Etch and Etch Deep on the 31st July. It will be interesting to see how the band can build on their sound.
The album opens up with the recent single ‘Bleak and Beautiful (All Things)’. It starts with a pattern created on a Launchpad, and then an accordion and a bass drum is brought into the track, giving a blissed out feel. The track then changes pace, with the accordion and ukulele present reminiscent of a carnival. This begins things nicely, before comes ‘You Dance a Particular Algorithm’. This song could be Haiku Salut’s poppiest yet; an up-tempo track featuring an infectious synth melody. Both this track and ‘Hearts Not Parts’ bring a feel good vibe to the album, with the latter track in particular incorporating a heavenly mix of acoustic guitars and soothing harmonies. The drumming is fluid and all these sounds blend in together, creating an atmospheric soundscape that could soundtrack a walk in an open field.
‘Divided By Surfaces and Silence’ features what sounds like the scrunching of paper, along with some creative glitched drumbeats. It is a slower track, although the layered minimalistic textures keep it interesting. ‘Things Were Happening and They Were Strange’ is another construction that includes similar guitar layers. However, the beauty of this track – like most Haiku Salut tracks – is their unpredictability, because you don’t know what is going to come next. This is demonstrated by what sounds like an 8-bit synthesizer intertwines with some beautiful harmonies, while the slow accordion adds a dark undertone to the track.
‘Becauselessness’ is the best track on the album, featuring a droning accordion and some fast drum patterns that are buried in the mix. At the same time, however, there is a beautiful reverberated accordion solo reminiscent of a hot desert. This allows the listener to take everything in and works really well when blended with the glitches in the background. ‘The No-Colour of Rain and Dust’ mostly consists of a calm relaxing piano, along with a synth with the portamento effect placed on it. This works really well because although the synth is slightly lower in the mix, the notes sound as if they have a lot of energy in them. The final track, ‘Foreign Pollen’ brings the album to a fun, upbeat end. Starting off with a soothing piano, it builds into a raucous crescendo, consisting of crashing drums, big trumpets, and layered accordions. The acoustic guitars then bring the album to an atmospheric and calm end.
Etch and Etch Deep is a genre-bending record, demonstrating that Haiku Salut are beginning to find their sound. The song-writing is more focused and contains some of their best work, resulting in a contagiously beautiful and heart-warming album.
Words by Ermis Madikopoulos