Sol Seppy - The Bells Of 1 2 (Gronland)

These are torch songs of a sort; the piano forms the bedrock of the sound but it never dominates. This is more Bjork in the Tardis than Julie Garland's bleeding heart on stage at Carnegie Hall. Sol Seppy is the recording alias of Australian-English-Greek raised Sophie Michalitsianos, the classically trained musician who earned her indie rock kudos playing cello and guitar in the haunted static noir of Sparklehorse.

In an increasingly monotone music landscape so dominated by guitar bands it's a blessed relief to hear something so vital yet inchoate, so cunning and musically inventive. This is a technicolor day dream, the part in the Wizard of Oz that switches from black and white into glorious colour. The songs manage to achieve the increasingly rare feat of sounding incredibly intimate.

So intimate in fact that you feel the songs were written for private reasons or personally for you as the listener. There is no trace of writing for an audience, a record company or focus group. You feel wrapped up in a concealed world, a closed circle a hidden and enigmatic space.

The heady, woozy flu-like atmosphere of the music reminds me of splintered mutant jazz of Robert Wyatt. The dream-like ambience of the tracks is like an updated take on Wyatt's classic Rock Bottom LP. The first words heard on the The Bells Of 1 2 are; "The power of angels you left at my door". They are apt words for a collection of songs so full of enchantment and surprise. The track opens with a set of chiming bells that sound like the glockenspiel of the gable of Hochzeitshaus in Hamlen. You can picture Sol Seppy bewitching the children of that medieval city with cello in hand. A pied piper for the 21st Century.

Classical trained musicians dabbling in indie music often fall between stools and produce work that seems unsure and vacant. Sol Seppy's obvious love of the form shines through. She appears to be much more in love with pop music than the classical canon. There is restraint and craft in the songs. Sol Fuzz uncoils from a plaintive piano figure via murky rough disco beats and a dirty fuzz bass to a soaring vocal climax. Heavenly.

The piano chords and melody of Injoy seem to trip over themselves and recoil as the rain lashes down outside. Come Running is all looping bass notes and guitars that ape the sound of 50s sci-fi films. When Michalitsianos sings; "it's simply love my friend" my heart leaps.

Wonderland is Kate Bush remixed by Adem. It is a modern fairy tale, a good luck charm spun around a killer melody line. The first single, Move, opens in a harsh whiplash of phosphorus synths in overdrive, but dissolves into something more beautiful and beguiling. Loves Boy, with its warped guitar notes and weaving cello, is like Portishead when they were on top form.

In the abstract delicacy of the arrangements and clever, inventive new combinations, Sophie Michalitsianos has fashioned a rare and dramatic collection. This is music stripped of indifference, alive with possibility. Be careful listening to The Bells Of 1 2 - it's breathtaking, and may give your heart repetitive strain injury.

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