一聽音樂網

We've been fans of London duo Alpines for about 345 years. OK, it's been five years since the soaring epics like "Cocoon" and "Empire" reeled us in, and since then the band have released their debut LP, Oasis, chatted with us about the evolution of their style, and set about making more music of course. Bob Matthews and Catherine Pockson are an inseparable pair, creatively and otherwise, and now they're coming back with a sophmore LP scheduled to drop this autumn. Entitled Another River (out on October 28th via Metropolis Music) the album was apparently inspired by a mantra of less is more. Below is "Heaven"—the hypnotic first track from the record—and one that sees Pockson's soulful vocals laying down on a bed of unpredictable beats, swaddled in synths. It's classic Alpines: svelte, cool, a little heartbreaking but uplifting too.

"We were inspired by the power of minimalism," explains Bob. "Catherine's lyrics were the most honest she has ever written, and we felt the more raw the compositions were, the more soulful the songs sounded.

"We wanted the album to feel widescreen and cinematic, yet honest. Imagery of the desert represented what we were trying to achieve in the music. It became symbolic of the album, and is reflected in the artwork. Making this album was a labor of love. It feels like new ground and a big step forward for us."