After signing the London, UK musician last year, Björk's record label, One Little Indian, released Sketches, a sort of primer to the work of Poppy Ackroyd, in which previously released pieces were presented as stripped-down solo piano pieces.
Resolve, the third full-length from the classically trained pianist, actually works as a sturdier introduction to her work and career, as the ten-track LP expertly demonstrates Ackroyd's outstanding ability to edit, process and re-shape her playing to create ethereal post-classical compositions. In 48 crystalline minutes, Ackroyd manages to lay down a collection of cascading melodies that would make for an enchanting listen even in their simplest forms.
But it's the way Ackroyd includes tactile sounds, like key taps and audible breaths, alongside sparse but effective swells of strings and low-key computer-assisted effects, that gives tracks like the analogue pulsating "Light," the swelling "Quail" and the adventurous "Luna" their distinct character.
Poppy Ackroyd chooses to move at a efficiently percussive pace throughout (best highlighted by the fertile and aptly-named "Time"), giving the album a post-modern atmosphere rarely explored on many classical-inspired albums, making Resolve an album hard to pin down and hard to categorize, but easy to adore.
(One Little Indian)Resolve, the third full-length from the classically trained pianist, actually works as a sturdier introduction to her work and career, as the ten-track LP expertly demonstrates Ackroyd's outstanding ability to edit, process and re-shape her playing to create ethereal post-classical compositions. In 48 crystalline minutes, Ackroyd manages to lay down a collection of cascading melodies that would make for an enchanting listen even in their simplest forms.
But it's the way Ackroyd includes tactile sounds, like key taps and audible breaths, alongside sparse but effective swells of strings and low-key computer-assisted effects, that gives tracks like the analogue pulsating "Light," the swelling "Quail" and the adventurous "Luna" their distinct character.
Poppy Ackroyd chooses to move at a efficiently percussive pace throughout (best highlighted by the fertile and aptly-named "Time"), giving the album a post-modern atmosphere rarely explored on many classical-inspired albums, making Resolve an album hard to pin down and hard to categorize, but easy to adore.
