Orenda Fink - 'Invisible Ones' (Saddle Creek)
4/5
By: Thomas Hannan
So Orenda Fink is from Azure Ray, who you may know for writing miserable, though rather pretty love(lorn) songs. The rationale offered for the temporary interruption is a new found happiness and subsequent inability to merely draw on non existent heartache for inspiration. Somehow though, this all makes 'Invisible Ones' probably the most downhearted album a happy person ever recorded.
OK, so whilst Fink might not actually be giggling her way through the record, at least she's in love now. As such there are more pressing things to trouble the mind, murkier depths to be explored than there were before. But whilst it will never lead to the cracking of any smiles, its power comes from the feeling that everything that is discovered on this little excursion, be it worrying or simply bizarre, is greeted with a wide eyed, pure sense of wonder.
It's a feeling that's emphasised by the way it'll be reflected in you, the all-important listener, when you get round to giving it a spin. Helped by a gleaming but admirably restrained sheen to the entire sound (nothing abrasive, all edges are left calmingly but not tediously soft), 'Invisible Ones' consistently keeps a rather ghostly, curious haze to it. The age-old, but recently all-too-often, overlooked tradition of making albums whereby every single track has something rather special to it is also adhered to brilliantly, the idea of filler being abandoned from the start, the beguiling husk of 'Leave It All' leading in to the mightily veiled pop sensibility of 'Invisible Ones Guard The Gate' without the shift from eerie quietness to catchy chorus causing the flow of the record any problems.
From there, the tactic of breezy power pop sections appearing from intermittently scary and uncomfortably pretty sections of shade doesn't let up. Certain parts of 'Bloodline' suggest a heavy metal onslaught just round the corner, but what instead turns up one more winning hook, and yet another on the choral 'Les Invisibles' (the theme of invisibility seemingly a favourite) or 'Dirty South', which could favourably be compared to the Secret Machines.
Though the heart of the album is probably located in its darkest corners, the places where that aforementioned sense of wonder is at its most encompassing. The actual sound in these quarters covers quite a range, from the agitated staccato plucks of 'Blind Asylum' to the excellent slow witchlike howls of a closing 'Animal' (which suggests somebody has been paying meticulous attention to Dead Can Dance records), but the sentiment that runs through them stays as one of a woman cautiously awestruck that can't really be captured by our lady's catchiest moments, necessary though those are.
It's often assumed that people experiment simply for the hell of it. That's not what a scientist would do. A scientist would only experiment to find something out. They don't just go in to a laboratory and throw different coloured liquids together to see what happens. Not if they're any good. Experiments are only worthwhile if they produce interesting, useful results. Whilst 'Invisible Ones' may not be at the forefront of progressive music, for Orenda Fink, it's a period of trial and research that pays of beautifully. With Azure Ray, she has something she can return to at will - but after this exploration, she'll take some findings that could point the way to something quite astounding.
Artists in this article: Orenda Fink
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