If You Leave

2013, Mar 18

Apple Spotify Indie Pop Dream Pop 97 Glassnote - VMG The Line of Best Fit 9/10 NME 2.5/5 DIY 3/5 All Music 3.5/5 The Skinny 4/5 Under The Radar 8.0/10 Mojo 3/5 The Observer 2/5 Loud and Quiet 9/10 Pop Matters 7/10 Northern Transmissions 7.5/10 The Guardian 3/5 music OMH 5/5 Sputnikmusic 3.5/5 Uncut 6/10

The Line of Best Fit 9/10 If You Leave is staggeringly beautiful from beginning to close, a catharsis that’s both bracing and woozily amniotic.

DIY 3/5 Arresting and dramatic.

The Skinny 4/5 If You Leave is not an album for the impatient. With an average track length of around 8 minutes, and triumphant closer Shallows weighing in at 11, Daughter’s awaited début wants us to stop and consider. Elena’s smoky vocals helm a thoughtful voyage across a wintry soundscape, carved by Igor’s shimmering guitar-work and Remi’s retracted beats. Fortunately, the experience is bracing, like plunging into icy Scandinavian waters: lyrically candid and acoustically fresh.

The Observer 2/5 Bruised folk tunes from the London trio should be heartbreaking but verge on the grating, writes <strong>Hermione Hoby</strong>

The Guardian 3/5 Daughter's songs are atmospheric, but feel calculatedly so and suffocating, writes <strong>Maddy Costa</strong>