If You Wait
Inspired by ambient dubstep and acts such as Everything But the Girl and Portishead, London Grammar\'s *If You Wait* is white-hot, a melancholy triumph of mood and nuance. With mournful pianos and jazzy breakbeats, soaring strings, and delicate guitars—all of it anchored by Hannah Reid\'s freight train of a voice—the album handily transcends easy comparisons to groups like The xx and Florence + The Machine. \"Wasting My Young Years\" sets Reid\'s wistful regrets against a backdrop of pianos and a shuffling house beat, while \"Metal & Dust\" incorporates a slinking garage rhythm. Then there are songs like \"Strong,\" the sonics of which (pianos, guitars, a distant beat) mostly just smolder under Reid\'s colossal cooing.
London Grammar first came to notice stateside with their vocal turn on "Help Me Lose My Mind", a highlight from Disclosure's Settle. Their debut album is filled with spacious, reverb-heavy pop that sometimes brings to mind the xx and Portishead.
The culmination of the trio's stratospheric rise, London Grammar's debut finds them oscillating between brilliantly simplistic pop and less inspiring reproductions of the same idea.
English trio London Grammar have quietly amassed a body of atmospheric, electronic pop material since they first posted "Metal & Dust" on the internet in 2012.
In December 2012, trio London Grammar released the song ‘Hey Now’ online, and almost immediately, whispers began.
More than the navel gazing album of 2013 (although its shadowy, late-night vibe certainly does invite the thinking of deep thoughts), London Grammar's debut full-length If You Wait represents a strong argument for instrumental austerity.
Album review: London Grammar's debut collection 'If You Wait' comes onto Clash's radar, and proves a success, with single 'Strong' a great representative track of a consistently appealing set.
Nottingham trio London Grammar mix of modern beats and 70s folk-rock vocals is impossible to dislike, writes <strong>Paul Mardles</strong>
London Grammar's trippy, translucent electronica is all about the slow builds, and is perhaps a bit too low-key overall, but impressive all the same, writes <strong>Caroline Sullivan</strong>