DAUGHTER - Not To Disappear LP

Label: Glassnote

The sophomore full-length from London's Daughter brings a more assertive articulation to their typically brooding ruminations while very much retaining the personality of their intimate debut LP. Though If You Leave was far from demure, sharp, more percussive attacks and pronounced, if still echoey and meandering, guitars greet ears from Not to Disappear's opening "New Ways."

The song also has stream-of-consciousness, near-rap passages by leader Elena Tonra; the singer has revealed that the band's recording process here was more spontaneous than ever before, with Tonra improvising lyrics during recorded "jams" in the studio, much of which was used on the album. Altogether elegant, moving, and often beautiful, Not to Disappear leaves Daughter, without question, on the heavier side of the emotional spectrum, but, like the Cure's "Dark Trilogy" 35 years prior, is sure to connect deeply with some listeners and stand out not only among pop contemporaries but among other emotive, textured indie pop.