Lespectre started out as the songwriting project of Bristol‘s Tom Hackwell who, along with drummer Max Perry, set out in search of a musical style that might achieve the same effect of dream-laden flow as the writing of Brazilian novelist Clarice Lispector. With the addition of Becky Leach (vocals, keys, violin), Gary Walker (guitar) and Sam Winter-Quick (vocals, bass), the outfit became a fully fledged band capable of something close—their lush and textured soundscapes possessing a sense of confidence and assurance, and the fluid logic of dreams.
This autumn sees the release of the debut Lespectre album, A Stray, A Dream, Forgiveness. Built from the above principles, the record draws upon shoegaze, dream pop and folk to conjure a sound heartfelt in the most tranquil sense, its energies directed not towards melodrama or bombast but the construction of a completely immersive atmosphere. One of ambiguity, allusiveness of direct meaning. A place where intuition reigns. As Hackwell put it: “Some of my favourite pieces of art give the viewer space to decide what it’s about themselves. Rather than making it a dot to dot drawing, it’s nice to let people exercise their own imagination.”
The band have unveiled lead single ‘Such a Simple Thing’ by way of introduction, and the song proves a worthy starting point. Building from a confessional hush, the track draws upon each member of the quintet (as well as Douglas Joshua on the cello) to grow gradually, its stark space slowly filling out into a momentous crescendo. “It’s a track that shows off everyone’s strengths,” Hackwell continues. “It all came together to form this whole picture of Lespectre that’s indicative of the band’s sound. It’s the one song that every other song on the album takes something from. It’s like the well from which the forest drank, this song that fed everything else.”
Oh we don’t talk much
Not since you came to me
It was all such
All such a simple thing
And I watched
I watched as we tore the house down