Bristol’s Jilk has been quiet for a couple of years, but has just come roaring back with a vengeance. Retreat to Sleep comes with a download of Demonstrations (2005-2007), now remastered, and was preceded by a trio of free EPs containing seven additional new tracks, six of them keepers. The Carry On! EP (2011) completes the collection; new fans will want them all.
It’s amazing to hear how little the older material has aged. Jilk’s music began as beautifully beep-centric, with hints of violin, a fine fit for the folktronica scene. The highlighted single, “My Techno Heart Meets Your EMO Dribble”, was topped only by the subtler, sharper “A Lovely Sticky Mess”, which reflected its title with crunches, winds and whorls. 2011’s “Severely Lacking Reset” would update the Jilk sound, providing evidence that Jonathan Worseley and friends were moving toward a new identity. By changing timbre several times within a single track, this piece laid the groundwork for Retreat to Sleep‘s larger surprises.
The music boxes, strings and melodic core are still present on Jilk’s new album and EPs, but the arrangements have grown more complex, and elements of post-rock have begun to infiltrate the grooves. While the new pieces are mostly instrumental, a series of vocalists adds welcome variety. The only exception (but no surprise, coming from us) is the jarring rap on “Just Do Life, Probably”. Fortunately this song was left off the album proper. The sweetest of vocals permeate “Foxes in Love” and “Escape Under Blankets”, which benefit from a perfect integration of soft timbre and whispery vox. The former track includes stuttered vocals in the AGF mold; the latter rises to an orchestral, drum-dominated finale.
The best of the EP tracks (not including the three found on both the EPs and the album) is the eight and a half minute “Ghost Grains”, a scatchy, bells-and-backward-masked number that evolves into a club piece then devolves into a concert hall piece. But the best moment is the unexpected campfire ending of “If You Must Leave”; by this time, the listener should have grown accustomed to late-song switches, yet the shift still catches the ear off guard. The album continues this effective tactic. What seem to be separate songs are often the same song unfolding in different movements.
With its guitar and glitch backdrop and yearning male vocals, “Don’t Carry On” could be mistaken for a These New Puritans track. “Sonder” is reminiscent of múm, while “Come In Spiders” is a cousin to Sleeps in Oysters, especially given its subject matter. First electronic, then classical, then choral, the piece is in constant motion. There’s even time for a little guitar solo near the end. “I Put Your Tape On” is the spiritual successor to Björk’s “Headphones”, a string-laden dance lullaby for romantics. By the stunning “Fat Feet Away, Check for Bones Everyday”, one realizes the obvious: Retreat to Sleep has way too many highlights. It’s simply an incredible album. (Richard Allen)
a closer listen 