first up, if there is anyone out there who recall dot allison then they may not be aware of the fact she is back on the release schedule after a lengthy time away from the solo artist spotlight (hanging out on tour duty with massive attack has kept her busy). 

having worked with all manner of quality leftfield producers over the years, when i heard she was teaming up with bomb the bass bloke, tim simenone, i was rather chuffed. there i was expecting lots of rumbling dub bass, and lovely laid back moods all wrapped around dots trademarked vocals.

well, the 3 track ep turned up yesterday, and it’s quite a shock. you see, i loved the reggae tinged pop of one dove, fell totally in with the cinematic pop of her 2 solo albums, (we are science was years ahead of the electro blowup and still sounds totally fantastic). this time around, much of the music is all stripped back acoustic guitar and little else.

while the results are naturally gorgeous, to hear such open music from someone who is normally so elusive, (did you read that playlouder interview - a  perfect example of how to answer questions and reveal absolutely nothing !) is quite a strange experience.

once the shock subsides, you are left with an ep of 3 tracks in which dots whispered vocals are as fantastic as ever.

opening with ‘quicksand‘ the song is like some lost paene to innocent times before pain and regret become part of daily life, not easy listening but rather wonderful. 

i have to say, however, that the second track is by far the most compelling. ‘blade of words‘ the atmosphere (with a chunk of widescreen production!) is one of foreboding intensity, a bass drone, far away noises, a sitar (perhaps) being plucked, with dot repeating the phrase, ‘i saw the razor under your tongue‘ over and over to chilling effect.

the ep then retreats back to the bare bones with the final track, paper rose, acoustic guitar and violin sit behind dot, ending up sounding like some long lost folk song that local people in pubs on islands far far away from civilisation sing on a dark and stormy night (can you tell i only recently watched the original wickerman movie .. ).

if you are lonesome and drifting around emotionally as the autumn approaches, then this ep could indeed be the answer to all your needs.