Lists
February: 18 albums you need to hear this month
Nightmares On Wax, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Nils Frahm and more
CLANN 'Seelie' (House of Youth Records)
Sebastian McKinnon’s CLANN project is as much about what you see as what you hear. The music on ‘Seelie’ possesses a filmic, audio-sensory quality: it conjures up images of icy landscapes inhabited by knights on horseback and axe-wielding clans, albeit with Charlotte Oleena’s vocals – sung in a non-specific tongue – softening the edges (he's also joined by Chloé Picard on violin). ‘Once Again’ is a pretty lament where folk, neo-classical and hip hop collide, but his reliance on the trip-hop playbook of ponderous, depth-charge beats lends ‘Seelie’ a slightly anachronistic mid-90s feel. ‘Dark Angel’ even brazenly invokes the spirit of Burial, with its glitchy rhythm and womb-like ambience. But as a pitch for a fantasy soundtrack series, it’s pretty decent stuff. Stephen Worthy
6/10
