Who Returned? Why, Arthur Beatrice did, just this afternoon; the below number a first sliver of silvery, previously unreleased material to have seen daylight since their majestic début album and our Record of 2014, Working Out. However, tentatively stated in hushed tones, this may well be their very greatest to date; the sound of an ensemble at long last fulfilling what has long since seemed an irrefutable, if sometimes latent, talent.
For as the below video – conceived in cahoots with longstanding collaborators, LiveFi – conveys, lead vocalist Ella Girardot is confidently becoming the increasingly focal siren she was always destined to become, standing out in swathes of white whilst stood against her black-clad brethren. But it’s musically, as per always, that the long-awaited return of Arthur Beatrice is most impactful: perhaps harking back to Dan Snaith’s periodic collaborating with Owen Pallett, an exigent arpeggio underpins similarly intense strings, courtesy of the London Contemporary Orchestra, the two elements combining to contrive a totally synergic, energetic tour de force which may yet witness Arthur Beatrice promoted to the proverbial ‘big time’ once and for all. For if Girardot voices sentiments of insecurity, bewailing repeatedly: “What are you up to when I don’t hear from you?”, you can now be sure they’ll be enthralling venues inconceivably more sizeable than the ICA sharpish…
Who Returned is available now, via Open Assembly Recordings / Polydor, while Arthur Beatrice play the ICA on February 18th.