Agnes Obel - Philharmonics

Those who fell in love with Agnes Obel’s wistful voice and the somber songs that graced her 2010 Riverside EP are sure to succumb to the charms of her debut album Philharmonics. Born in Copenhagen (but residing in Berlin), Obel sings beautifully melancholic ballads with breathy and bewitching inflections. “Falling, Catching” is a minute-and-a-half instrumental piano piece that perfectly introduces the stark beauty of “Riverside” before “Brother Sparrow” adds on lightly strummed acoustic guitars and a second vocal track making her singing sound more dusky and mysterious. She turns John Cale’s “Close Watch” into a spectral lullaby akin to Marissa Nadler’s best moments. Standout song “Just So” was featured in a German Deutsche Telekom commercial and in the soundtrack to Thomas Vinterberg’s film Submarino. It plays like the album’s centerpiece with a spare architecture of piano, gently plucked strings, and feathery vocal harmonies allowing plenty of room for a big beautiful melody to blossom and wilt before your very ears with a fantastical beauty — like waking up in a fresh snow bank to the sound of sirens singing “Edelweiss”.

Tracklisting

Falling, Catching (1:35)
Riverside (3:50)
Brother Sparrow (4:00)
Just So (3:37)
Beast (3:52)
Louretta (2:08)
Avenue (4:09)
Philharmonics (3:35)
Close Watch (4:04)
Wallflower (2:28)
Over The Hill (2:50)
On Powdered Ground (4:10)

Apple Music

Videos

Agnes Obel - Falling Catching

Release Images

Release Information

Key	Value
Format	Vinyl LP Album
Label	[PIAS] Recordings
Catalog Number	PIASR 195 LP
Notes	Runout parts “BA11341-01 A1 MK” and “BA11341-01 B2 MK” are stamped; the rest is etched. The track numbers are given sequentially on the release, 1 to 12. Recorded in Berlin 2004 - 2010. ℗ & © 2010 Agnes Obel released under exclusive license by [PIAS] Recordings. [PIAS] Recordings is a label of the [PIAS] Entertainment Group.
Discogs URL	Agnes Obel - Philharmonics