Grouper – Holding
SoundCloud
Ruins is the tenth entry into the discography of Grouper (aka Liz Harris), and might be the most aptly titled LP of 2014. Downtrodden and sporting a body of emotional bruises, it’s not a record you’ll have on repeat at the Christmas party, but it is a wonderfully enchanting piece of wounded introspection.
Harris has never been a stranger to minimalism and here she fully embraces it. With the exception of the slightly overdrawn ambient finale that is “Made of Air”, Ruins is comprised solely of bare, haunting piano under which Harris lays her somber vocals and lyrical perspectives. There is nothing fancy about Ruins – it moves in one direction and works within one dimension, but it’s chosen target is hit with such precision. With creeping melodies and a stark, raw quality of production, tracks like “Clearing” and “Holding” sink beneath your skin with ease. What keeps them there and leaves them to linger is how Harris and her hushed voice unravel musings on painful memories with such naked conviction. Although the instrumental pieces on Ruins are beautiful by themselves, it’s the combination of both Grouper’s songwriting and brittle musicianship which deliver a straightforward, piercing jab to the heart.
It’s not all sadness and sorrow with Ruins. Although it boasts a deep, evocative sense of melancholy, it also weaves a pretty chilling atmosphere as well. With the use of reverb, raw recording techniques and stormy ambient backgrounds, Grouper’s latest full-length transports you to the very heart of the cold, lonely place that Harris is coming from. It might be stripped of complexity and it might not make as much noise as other albums out there, but you’ll be hard-pressed to find a record that delivers as much density with so few mechanics.
