If You Leave is Daughter’s debut album. Recorded over a period of months at home and in various spaces around London, it was produced by Igor with additional production from Rodhaidh McDonald (The xx, Adele) and Jolyon Vaughan Thomas, and mixed by Ken Thomas (Sigur Ros, M83) at High Bank Studios.
Less of a statement of intent, these songs are more a snapshot of a year in Daughter’s short life. Lyrically, Elena plumbs the depths of her psyche to reveal her innermost thoughts, finding catharsis in expounding those internal demons. There may be little light relief here, but the personal themes have universal appeal; tales of doubt, insecurity, fear, anger and loneliness all take centre stage.
Musically, Daughter balance an intricate interplay between vocal, guitar and
rhythm section. Elena’s vocals are fractured, often delivering savage words
with a smoke-tinged whisper. Igor wrestles his guitar to build up a stark and
brutal landscape, colliding with Elena’s more structured rhythm guitar. All
are punctuated by the jolts of
Remi’s minimalist drums.
If You Leave is a bold first move for an act still in its infancy, and yet the songwriting displays a maturity that belies their youth. Darkness may prevail on If You Leave, but the future looks extremely bright for Elena, Igor and Remi.