New Track: Pascal Pinon – ‘53’

‘53’ is an enchantingly lugubrious release taken from Pascal Pinon‘s (Icelandic twin sisters, Jófríður and Ásthildur Ákadóttir) third album Sundur. It marks a shift back to the experimental, yet unwaveringly mature, mood of their 2010 self-titled first album, self-produced when the pair were only 14.

Pascal Pinon – self-confessed devotees to folky lo-fi music and artists such as Björk, Joni Mitchell and Sinead O’Connor – describe their sound as “simple and honest, filled with both melancholy and optimism” and hope it will “inspire, soothe heartaches and warm you inside“.

‘53’ is a sublime embodiment of this. Steeped in soft, swooping vocals courtesy of Jófríður, against a sparsely orchestrated but cadenced backdrop of Ásthildur on acoustic guitar, the track feels intimately raw and immersive in its minimalism and subtle inclusion of synths.

Amongst this, Pascal Pinon still manage to keep sight of the classic folk tradition of storytelling; ‘53’ was inspired by a conversation Jófríður once had with a stranger in a church about life, death and suicide as a result of mental illness.

Refreshingly sanguine and vitally unpretentious, Pascal Pinon’s ‘53’ is a track that will stay with you.

Pascal Pinon’s third album Sundur is due for release 26 August via Morr Music.

Tilda Bywater
@tildabywater

Tilda Bywater

Tilda Bywater

Tilda Bywater

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