U

In “Black Vaughan” the rumbling of battlefield drums beckon us into the sinister tale of a tyrant felled in conflict whose spirit lived on to terrorise local residents until his eventual exorcism by 12 parsons who captured his spirit in a silver snuff box.

U’s rumination on this tale of violence, fear and woe is striking in the intricate way it weaves spoken word, spectral, heart-wrenching piano melodies and stirring, almost triumphant horn lines reminiscent of the soundtrack to Kurosawa’s “Seven Samurai”.

“Is It A Kind Of Dream?” takes the familiar sound of a child singing hymn-like, perhaps in a school assembly or village hall, and adds a melancholy twist with a haunting backing choir, all bathed in beautiful, warming record crackle. It creates a Lynchian primary school assembly vibe, with the familiarity of upright pianos heard throughout many childhoods, in a vaguely unsettling ambience.

Listen → BLACK VAUGHAN
Watch → BLACK VAUGHAN by Eric Timothy Carlson & Aaron Anderson