Ahava is the recording project of Yasmin Gale from Falmouth in Cornwall. In the album description she confesses that, for a variety of reasons, she had not written music for six years prior to this release. But a recent university project inspired her to get back into songwriting, and so she locked herself away in her bedroom with just her guitars and computer for company. The result was Steal, Kill, Destroy, this absolute gem of an EP.
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The EP is seven tracks of haunting, ambient folk music, backed with Gale’s excellent vocals. Some of the tracks are sterling examples of conventional lo-fi folk, all fragile vocals and lovelorn lyrics (see ‘Blood’). Others (such as ‘Longing’) are something a little different, the vocals joining a hazy swirl of ambience, producing something more akin to Julianna Barwick than Laura Marling.
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Gale signs off the album description by saying, “Nothing big or fancy….just plain and simple….Maybe a bit too simple, but i hope you like them for now”. She is either being unnecessarily modest, or is capable of something pretty extraordinary if this is “too simple”. You can download the album right now on a pay-what-you-want basis over at Bandcamp