Aoife Nessa Frances – Protector Review

Follow Cult Following

Get more of our coverage in Google.

Eight pockets of neo-psychedelic music set a firm sophomore piece for Aoife Nessa Frances and the unique vocal chemistry she creates on Protector. Eight moments of chamber pop divinity, with passionate and mystical lyrics that create such beautiful cohesion. It is easy to miss Protector when so much goes on, but it is hard to not find real love for it as one of the best albums of the year. Those calming flourishes ease over with sincerity, truth and protective qualities that do not just find comfort in the folk psychedelia mixture, but push forth with a collection of brass and electric quite unlike anything else.

Opening track Way to Say Goodbye feels eternal. There is a fine ability from Frances on this track to extract the listener, to pull them closer to the fabric of their work and hold them there, freeze them. It is an intensity quite unlike anything in the genre. Much credit must be given to the string sections pieced together by Ailbhe Nic Oireachtaigh, a touching collection of symphonic glory that is given ample time to express and breathe and showcase pure talent. Those closing moments of Way to Say Goodbye identify themselves well with the lyrical drive and desire. Cohesion and clarity, piecing themselves together deep below a track where lyrical flicks of the wrist are as smart as they are passive for the talent at the heart of this piece.

There is a great balance between engaged lyrical quality and mysterious intonation. As much of that comes from Frances’ lyrical quality as it does from the overwhelming, moving use of synth to round out second track This Still Life, or the jazz lounge beat intro of Emptiness Follows. Those harpsichord inclusions only add layer upon layer to the repetition of the title. Emptiness may follow Frances in this track, but her conclusions of incredible and wondrous moments make for an engaged listen. Only Child sees trust thrown to Warren Ellis-like violin skills, all to the steady beat of percussion pacing and harpsichord reliance. There is truth, beauty, and wonder, nestled within the symphonies that surround Frances’ lyrical charms. Chariot embodies those same charms, a guitar cutting through here more than any other track, with delicate qualities to it and the instruments that surround it.

From Back to Earth and its slower charms to the incredible mixing on display the whole way through, Protector is a rare album. An intimate, instantly commanding piece that engages with that perfect balance of lyrical clarity and musical integrity. Frances is in fine form throughout with pieces that fixate and elongate some great beauty and wonder throughout. A dark horse for album of the year, a rare beast that will only get better and better. Longevity is a rare beast that benefits Protector, its charm coming from the repetition of its lucidity, its fluency with diluting the simplicity of its lyrics and stretching them further, brighter and smarter than the chamber pop often allows. Protector is engaging and delicate in all the right spots, Frances’ sophomore piece storms through with sincerity and vibrancy.