Seven out of the eight songs on Liz Harris 10th studio album Ruins was written and recorded using a 4-track recorded, a piano and not much else in 2011 around abandoned ruins in Aljezur, Portugal – all scarcely layered, beautiful and ghostly piano driven pieces that sounds clearer in structure than any of her past albums. The exception to Ruins formula is its 11-minute finale “Made of Air”. Home recorded nearly a decade ago in her mother’s house (and seven years before the rest of Ruins), it’s a strange mood breaker – taking a much darker turn – and takes us back to the drifting ambient world of pre-Dragging a Dead Dear Up a Hill era Grouper. Also listen to “Holding” below and pay attention to the difference in sound; between the pair, Harris crafted something that feels like a stunning boil-down of her past and present selves.
