October 2008 saw the long-awaited release of a new studio album by Cranes, the British group whose creative output has spanned over fifteen years and – with this latest addition – nine studio albums. "Cranes" has been three years in the making. It is a triumph of celestial atmospheric rock and metaphysical minimalist electronics, made instantly recognisable by Alison Shaw’s childlike vocals and Jim Shaw’s uniquely inventive compositions. There are themes of fractals, the mysterious mathematical patterns and shapes that can be found throughout nature and the universe beyond. Lyrics speak of the passing of time, of how cyclical things can be and of wanting to move forward. This is all woven into compositions that take in everything from krautrock and folk, to intricate, almost extra-terrestrial soundscapes and David Lynch-esque melodies. Stand out tracks include Feathers – a filmic Espers-recalling underwater epic and High and Low’s guitar-led waltz. There’s Panorama’s dark Parisian vocal layering and Wires’ soaring melody textured with Four Tet-like blips. The new album’s otherworldly tonal beauty will continue to see them existing outside of the mainstream, slightly disconnected but able to offer a very beautiful, one-of-a-kind vision of life in the twenty first century.
The blend of pretty melodies, other worldly atmospheres and twinkling electronica dovetails nicely with today’s ‘folktronica’ scene…the one chord ‘Worlds’, the French sung ’Panorama’ and ‘Wonderful Things’, with its circular acoustic guitar pattern are hauntingly lovely…(Q Magazine reviewing “Cranes” album, 2008)
Cranes' last two albums signified a musical shift by extending their interest in glimmering electronic melodies and more gently contemplative song structures, eschewing the distortion-driven dissonance and upfront drumbeats of past recordings. On tracks such as "Feathers" and "Wires", the guitar work remains delicate in tone and slides with casual grace into the lovely pulse of the keyboard motif, creating a mysterious swirl of stripped-down beauty. (Pitchfork Media, 2009)
Their immersion in electronic soundscapes works beautifully with Shaw’s otherworldly melodies… On the truly lovely ‘Feathers’ the results are stunning. (Rocksound)
