It might only be four tracks long, but Aquilo’s self-titled debut EP is one of those that just keeps on getting better track by track.
The electronic duo are 23 year old Tom Higham and 19 year
old Ben Fletcher, neighbours from up there in the Lake District. Their home is beautifully distilled in their
music – electronic dreamscapes of lush production and ethereal R&B, with
bleak undercurrents of frosty melancholy.
Opening track You
There is a delicate piano ballad seemingly suspended in time, gently
leading towards It All Comes Down To This
and Part of Your Life that
feature the sort of gorgeous electronic production and down-tempo beats that’ll
have you floating as high as those honeyed falsetto vocals. Yet underneath the beauty are lyrics of
heartache and soaring melodies, reflecting a deep-set sadness.
Final track I Don’t
Want To See It is the jewel in Aquilo’s crown, ramping up the R&B
rhythms and a heavier beat with layers of reverbed synths that glitter and
shimmer in the background. Fans of How
To Dress Well and London Grammar will find much to enjoy here.
4/5
Listen: ‘Aquilo’ is available now.