BELLA UNION
If sensitivity’s sorely lacking in the contemporary world, London’s Ed Riman is here to put that right. His debut album may be concise, but it’s a richly detailed, calming collection whose only real shortcoming is that it’s at times almost too subtle for its own good. Growing Things, for instance, shimmers and sparkles like The War On Drugs playing 10cc’s I’m Not In Love, while Riman’s expressive voice soars through the dusky Oh We’re Getting Along. Opener I Wrote A Letter Home also boasts an uplifting melody that propels Riman to the top of his vocal range, and Endless String opens with piano and hazy vocals, blossoming slowly towards an understated, hymn-like climax. Starlight, Tender Blue’s spacious, slightly shoegazey electronica, meanwhile, adds further depth and darkness, and the layered, backward voices of the closing IIissohr provide a placid parting elegy.