Sunday, 1 September 2013

Agnes Obel - The Curse

Single review by kev@thesoundofconfusion.co.uk


Outside the UK (unless it's just me) Agnes Obel is pretty big news. She's won major awards in her native Denmark and has a big fanbase in Germany (she's based in Berlin), but the UK market, by comparison at least, seems relatively untapped. Perhaps she can make some inroads with her second album 'Aventine' which is out on September 30th. The first single from that record is 'The Curse', a song of understated baroque beauty. It's not particularly commercial, and therefore may win over the critics more than the public, but recent trends are in her favour.

For example, solo female artists are outselling their male counterparts, there's been a slight swing back towards the timeless style of music she makes, with the likes of PJ Harvey and Anna Calvi releasing records that aren't a million miles away from what Obel is doing, and there seems to be a slight but growing undercurrent of music fans favouring more organic sounds. Just look at how big a star someone like Laura Marling is. We can't expect those levels of success maybe, but this quietly brooding yet sweet ballad is as pure and accomplished as anyone mentioned above.



Agnes Obel's website

Buy the single

Catch her live:

Sep 17 iTunes Festival @ Roundhouse, London, UK
Oct 18 Kulturetage, Oldenburg, Germany
Oct 19 Paradiso, Amsterdam, Netherlands
Oct 21 Union Chapel, London, UK
Oct 22 Colston Hall 2, Bristol, UK
Oct 23 Vicar Street, Dublin, Ireland
Oct 24  CCA, Glasgow, UK
Oct 28 Det Kongelige Teater, Copenhagen, Denmark
Oct 31 Heilig Geist Kirche, Frankfurt Am Main, Germany
Nov 01 Cirque Royal, Brussels, Belgium
Nov 02 Rockhal, Esch Sur Alzette, Luxembourg
Nov 04 Jazzhaus, Freiburg, Germany
Nov 05 Teatro Martinitt, Milan, Italy
Nov 07 Theaterhaus Stuttgart, Germany
Nov 08 Heiliggeistkirche, Heidelberg, Germany
Nov 09 Kaufleuten, Zurich, Switzerland
Nov 10 Kaufleuten, Zurich, Switzerland
Nov 12 E-Werk, Erlangen, Germany
Nov 13 Kulturkirche, Cologne, Germany
Nov 21 Femina , Bordeaux, France
Nov 22 OPERA, Rennes, France
Nov 23 Le 106, Rouen, France
Nov 24 Auditorium Lumière, Lyon, France
Nov 30 La Piscine, Roubaix, France Tickets
Dec 01 THEATRE D'HEROUVILLE, Hérouville Saint Clair, France
Dec 02 Trianon , Paris, France
Dec 04 Trianon, Paris, France
Jan 03 Philharmonie, Berlin, Germany





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