Subside E.P.

Reviewed by: Nigel Wassell @ Tune Town Magazine

"Halflight? Let's begin with a quotation from their website: "Halflight is a Cardiff based collective, the brainchild of singer/ songwriter Sarah Howells. Think Gemma Hayes, Beth Orton, Nick Drake, Wolfgang Tillmans, The Bangles, Tori Amos, Damien Rice, Bjork, then think again..." Certainly. I think I'll add The Sundays to that list, at least on the strength of the full-band opener, "Where The Pins Drop", which performs the vital function of drawing the listener into the e.p. On one level a simple-sounding, almost perky song of nostalgia and regret for past friendship, it takes on a totally different and much deeper meaning when one notes the dedication of the whole e.p. "for Nia" - Nia George, Sarah's best friend and co-founder of promising Milford Haven-based "indie rock band" Jylt, who died tragically young from leukæmia in February, this year. "The people that we care about are everything we are" sings Sarah in "Where The Pins Drop" and it becomes apparent that this set of four songs is a very personal statement. The next song, "Treading Water", which was actually written by Jylt, is simply gorgeous. The guitar trickles like water in a mountain stream, whilst Emma Bryden's cello weaves in and out of Sarah's beautiful vocals. The same instrumental combination is used to similarly devastating effect in "Sixfour", whilst "Photos" relies solely on an under-stated picked guitar backing, which lends the partially double-tracked vocals even greater resonance. "Where are you now?" sings Sarah in "Sixfour" and the sense of loss is almost palpable, but whilst the mood is unquestionably sombre throughout it's never maudlin. In fact, this e.p. manages the rare distinction of being both affecting and uplifting at one and the same time. Not to mention heartbreakingly beautiful. And it's exquisitely packaged, in a limited-edition wallet with a fold-out poster-card and (in my case, at any rate) a hand-written note from Sarah herself. Cost? A lifetime's experience from the artist, or a paltry four pounds from you, from Terminal Records in Haverfordwest, Spillers in Cardiff (and perhaps, by the time this appears in print, Musiquarium in Swansea), or £4.65 (including postage) from the Halflight website (www.halflight.info). Go to it, people."