Somewhere between pop, electronic, and ethereal voices, Afterglow marks the successful return of Dot Allison, ex-singer of the group One Dove, who gave us the sublime single "White Love" a few years back.
With this new album, Dot Allison who still claims her dub-electronic past opens herself to larger horizons like unadorned acoustics and ethnic tones. The bet is a successful one since the diverse musical tendencies blend pleasantly around electronic rhythms and her bewitching voice to create an ensemble of melodious songs that emit a certain beauty. Moreover, Dot has left nothing to chance musically; she has called on distinguished guests like Richard Fearless and Tim Holmes from Death In Vegas and Kevin Shields from My Bloody Valentine (who now officiates in the heart of Primal Scream).
Afterglow opens with the single "Colour Me". The heavy rhythmics then take off to the light and buoyant chorus of "This is Heaven" and its sound of harpsichords. "Tomorrow Never Comes" ventures towards ethereal regions where acoustic guitar, voice, and synthetic layers harmonize with languor. "Close Your Eyes" is an unstoppable hymn with Arabian accents where the guitars carry the refrain smoothly. "Message Personnel" hypnotises with its repetitiveness and delivers the message more effectively. "I Wanna Feel The Chill" follows, intriguing with its Bjorkesque oddity. "Morning Sun" plunges into a more conventional electronic sound while "Did I Imagine You?" is a pure and graceful ballad. "Mo'Pop" arrives to refresh with sixties tones while "Alpha Female" has the strange beauty of a Tori Amos song. Finally, "In Winter Still" with its penchant for German Caberet and the Arabian remix of "Message Personnel" finely concludes the album, staying in the tonality of the whole album.
Afterglow is a light and melodious album whose only claim is to charm its listener; it wholly succeeds.
Dot Allison Afterglow
