ALBUM: Daughter 'Not To Disappear'

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In 2013, Daughter unveiled their distinctive indie-folk sound on debut album, If You Leave. Three years later, the British trio have returned with more beautiful, anesthetising sound on their second album. Urgent, elegant and evocative – Not To Disappear will move you to distraction.

Opening track ‘New Ways’ unravels with ricocheting drums and earnest lyrics, offering listeners the perfect form of procrastination –“Oh, I need new ways to waste my time”. This leads in to the dreamy and desolate ‘Numbers’, instructing the listener to “Take the worst situations, make a worse situation” over melancholic guitar and steady percussion. Vocalist Elena Tonra confesses to feeling “numb” on this track, but if a lack of feeling produces such emotive song-writing, perhaps we should all endeavour to feel a little less?

The band’s ability to take painful situations and make them bearable is displayed once more on ‘Doing The Right Thing’. Daughter paint an unsettling picture of fragility and isolation in old age –“And they’re making children, everyone’s in love, I just sit in silence, let the pictures soak…” – and the accompanying video poignantly mirrors this image. On ‘Alone/With You’, Elena patiently contradicts herself: “I hate sleeping alone, terrified with the lights out” / “I hate sleeping with you, ‘cos you are never there” – it’s an uncomfortable but reassuring listen. It’s soothing to hear that we are all equally as “terrified with the lights out”.

Falling just shy of three minutes, ‘No Care’ has a restless rhythm which brings an unexpected and exciting change in the album’s pace. Elena frankly addresses jaded romantic history – that one time when we “fucked” and “I felt like a bad memory…” – she’s fearless, but simultaneously fraught with pain. ‘To Belong’ aches with despondency and the lingering wish to take a break from “screaming all day”. Elena states “I don’t want to belong, to you, to anyone…” before the track leads in to a stunning instrumental.

This defiance leaks back in to insecurity on ‘Fossa’ – “I said too much, said the wrong thing, remembering the image I was trying to project to you…” – but the track is superbly paced and by the second minute, it has grown in volume and confidence. Introverted and awkward, ‘Made Of Stone’ closes the album and focuses on stunted emotions: “I should be feeling more, draped over your bones…”. When Elena sings with such sincerity, it’s difficult to believe she could possibly “feel more” – surely the pressure of doing so would break listener’s hearts in to smaller pieces?

Listen, fall apart, and disappear to the sound of Daughter’s new album.

Not to Disappear is out now via 4AD.