Scottish singer-songwriter Lists has already enjoyed huge success. His music has been played on BBC Introducing and BBC Radio Scotland, and his most popular tracks have garnered many millions of streams.
Lists’ debut album ‘LP1’ was released over a year ago, and Lists appears to have been pretty quiet on social media since its release, but I’m so glad it has finally appeared on our radar!
Combining various sounds – mainly acoustic – but occasionally electric, there are so many textures and tactile moments that LP1 feels like it lives and breathes. It’s a clean, unfussy record which has an understated but emotional atmosphere. Each sound feels touched, not programmed, and you can almost feel the grain of the wood and the brush of fingertips on strings. It drips from the speakers.
The vocal has a pure tone, and the simple, measured delivery feels almost like another string instrument to me. I loved the way Lists’ Scottish accent shines through. There’s a human closeness – you can hear every subtle detail in that vocal, and it pulls you closer in.
Beautiful melodies unfold over each track with a gravitas and a depth that you rarely hear. There are sweeping, dramatic parts next to small, quiet parts – but always plenty of memorable hooks too. I think it’s going to take a while to fully explore every trail in this forest of sound.
The 9 tracks are all named with a single word. Indeed, the whole album has a sparse, minimalistic power.
The biggest highlights for me:
The first time we hear that distinctive vocal is in ‘Intro’.
The sparse electronic sounds & beat in ‘Bare’
The slow, dramatic evolution of ‘Breakwater’.
The immersive soundscape of ‘Crest’.
The powerful silences in ‘Mull’.
The aching melancholy and beautiful melody of ‘Pacing’.
The insistent piano on ‘Upstream’.
The final creative flourish of the beat in ‘Veil’.
The strings are a clear standout in every track, with a perfectly smooth legato sound that flows over you like warm honey. Lists’ vocal battles with the strings for the title of ‘star of the show’, though. By the end, I think it has to be called a draw!
After a fleeting 28 minutes, it’s all over, and it feels like I have been listening to my own personal chamber music concert. Like I’ve heard something totally original and modern – a daring, innovative blend of elements that occupies its own world and is as individual as a fingerprint.
LP1 is an incredible debut album. Hopefully, LP2 will not be too far away!
Written by Grubby
