by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

One of the great things about music is its community spirit; the possibilities it offers for making art with friends. Such is the case with Alev Lenz and Jas Shaw, who have been friends for a decade or thereabouts, and have put that friendship on record with a quintet of songs.

Alev Lenz is a talented singer-songwriter whose credits include songs for the screen (Black Mirror and Dark) and also production work with Anoushka Shankar and Roomful of Teeth. Jas Shaw has a good deal of previous with the band Simian, who then morphed into Simian Mobile Disco. He may not have undertaken as much production work as his bandmate James Ford, but his work with Gold Panda as Selling yielded the fine album On Reflection.

This five-track mini-album is described as ‘dreamy lullabies that confirm the pair’s perfect match’, with Lenz saying the album ‘is about friends talking about the state of the world and their souls.’

What’s the music like?

This is light music – but not necessarily in a pop sense, more in its economical use of texture in music and the endearing vocal that floats up top.

The five tracks are very subtly dressed with starry textures, lighting A World Beyond with pinpricks of melody in response to Lenz’s dreamy vocal. Between Two Breaths is even more effective, the voice mulitracked in very close harmony, with comfortable dissonances that pan out beautifully against a spacious backdrop.

Overstrung but Underdamped is a beauty, a meditative track that becomes a calming mantra, Lenz’s voice used to its maximum effect by Shaw who allows only the minimum counterpoint.

Does it all work?

Yes – if only there was more of it! This is definitely a case of quality rather than quantity, with the five songs over in 25 minutes – but they do leave a very positive impression.

Is it recommended?

It is – a brief encounter this may be, but there is a special musical chemistry between these two friends.

For fans of… Beth Hirsch, Cocteau Twins,

Listen and Buy

Published post no.2,114 – Monday 11 March 2024