Staff Reviews

Gravenhurst - Flashlight Seasons/Black Holes in the Sand/Offerings

Review by Haydon Spenceley

An ideal opportunity to experience something truly special.»

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Two early Gravenhurst albums and a companion collection of unreleased recordings from the period, anthologised to celebrate 10 years of Gravenhurst being on Warp. The first disc contains 'Flashlight Seasons', their first album for Warp in 2004. It quickly earned Gravenhurst a devoted fanbase, consistently strong support from the music press and cemented Nick Talbot's reputation as a unique talent and one of the most original British singer-songwriters and producers of his generation. The second disc contains 'Black Holes In The Sand', the companion piece to 'Flashlight Seasons'. A mini-album half an hour in length and comprised of six songs. A noisier and more overtly lo-fi record of dark pastoral psychedelia, 'Black Holes In The Sand' firmly established an enduring Gravenhurst aesthetic: enigmatic lyrics, ghostly vocals and virtuoso finger-picked guitars against a backdrop of cinematic, shape-shifting, semi- conscious textures; subliminal transmissions from the surrounding landscape. The third disc contains 'Offerings: Lost Songs 2002 - 2004', a collection of unreleased recordings from the early days of Gravenhurst. Unexpected treasures found in the Gravenhurst archives whilst researching material for the reissues of 'Flashlight Seasons' and 'Black Holes In The Sand'.
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