by Ben Hogwood

What’s the story?

Portland composer David Allred releases a new album on Erased Tapes dedicated to ‘the expression of existential themes such as death, grief, longing and loss’.

There is a deeply personal element to this expression, for the album is dedicated to a Lauren, a young family friend lost to suicide.

The Erased Tapes press release describes how he set about composing the album. “For some musicians, a change in instrumentation, theme or learning a new artistic vocabulary helps them to move in a different direction. For Allred, a long period of introspection was more relevant to the development of his practice:

“I find beautiful irony when I consciously disconnect myself from working on music because it gives me more fuel and inspiration to engage in it more meaningfully when I resume. In the past, I used to work and create recklessly without boundaries which led to growth and success but at the cost of occasional disassociation. I would be checked out at times even while working […] but now that I make music less often, I feel like I’m growing with what I do, and truly living life more. And since I’m getting more out of life, I have more to say. These boundaries have given me greater access to the things that inspire me, along with a peace of mind and the ability to rest when I maintain this balance.”

His work on the album brought a realisation that everyone has a Lauren in their own way – making The Beautiful World a story of intense loss.

What’s the music like?

Allred immerses his listener in a lovely bath of sound from the start, Pupper creating a dense cloud of music that sets the mood for a period of intense reflection and meditation. It is however possible to sit outside the intensity as a listener, and just let the gorgeous sounds wash over you.

This applies particularly to tracks like Stray, with its soft piano prompts and rich flurries of texture that, while fast moving, act as a shimmering drone. Piano Tree brings the instrument to the fore, chiming through the instrumental haze. Meanwhile The Door has a touching fragility, starting as though replicating machines in a hospital but then with wordless voices that appear to inhabit the moment where a soul passes to the other side.

Allred’s personal tribute finds its apex in the touching Oh Lauren, telling her story in a moving commentary. Yet the closing Elevation 145 is similarly moving in spite of its lack of words. Here a surge of colour and consonant harmony, expressed as a drone, offers hope and dazzling light, in the form of a massive wall of sound.

Does it all work?

It does. Allred’s aim was to encourage listeners ‘to sit with the concept of grief…hopeful they can find comfort and learn to process it in a healing way.’ He certainly achieves that here.

Is it recommended?

Yes. The Beautiful World is a touching piece of work, striking in its simple beauty and with a reach that extends beyond grief to ultimate piece. It gives a great deal of consolation in troubled times.

For fans of… Peter Broderick, Arthur Russell, Ólafur Arnalds, Max Richter

Listen / Buy

https://davidallred.bandcamp.com/album/the-beautiful-world-1

Published post no.2,424 – Tuesday 28 January 2025