Camille Delean – Cold House Burning
E-Tron Records – 5 June 2020
There’s an inner dialogue at play on Camille Delean’s new album, Cold House Burning, a dialogue that reflects living in isolation. That the record was released at this time is pure chance, yet never has a record been more perfect for these troubling times when so many of us are left having inner dialogues. Brought on by illness, her seclusion and its resulting anxiety, it creates the same thoughts many of us confront today.
The initial guitar on Idle Fever, Out Of Tune drones like a church bell, delineating the hour yet bringing no relief. “Threat of fire in a spark, threat of dawn in the dark.” Piano notes in the background bring a slight sense of relief as they move to play a more prominent role. Drums and scraping guitar provide a bridge to Sleep In. Lyrically the song provides little cover, “The day dawns and it hurts me.” Yet there are subtle shifts in the tonal palette. The sound is lighter, and the use of saxophone provides a melancholy sheen.
There’s a sense of strength to Medicine Morning even as the track seems to be preparing for an internal battle. “Look at the light today, it’s gonna be a fight all day. I’m almost delighted.” Keyboard textures battle with the drums and bass in a full-scale siege for control of the track. While there are no winners or losers, the fact that Camille is looking forward to the fight bodes well.
The battle rages on in Fault Line (Late July), as Delean sings, “Don’t let me freeze on a fault line … I don’t trust the ground. Watch your footing on the lines or you’re going down.” The late July sun and a reinvigorated drum suggest the worst may be coming to an end. Still, Delean suggests the track is more “a hyper-anxious way of moving through the world. Full of warnings, as if being alive, meant getting away with something. A snapshot of a state of mind: a good place to visit, but not to linger.”
Despite bouts of darkness, the light continues to shine in if one is willing to see it. As Delean notes on Go Easy, “Go easy on the world, it’s only turning.” Similarly Saturn Gravity suggests, “Relax, be good, patience. You’ve got a strange way of feeling, that’s all.”
Though Cold House Burning is sombre and introspective, there are also messages of hope. Camille Delean has seemingly found the balance point between solitude and loneliness, between desolation and despair and come out on the other side. She shares messages we can all learn.
Out on 5 June. Order via Bandcamp: https://camilledelean.bandcamp.com/
Photo Credit: Nathalie Delean