Hannah Peel’s colourful new album masks a darker secret – the effect of dementia on the mind, as experienced by Peel at first hand with her grandmother. She has however turned her response into something incredibly positive, imaginatively orchestrated and with some beautifully sung melodies. Peel has always struck as an incredibly versatile artist, and here she demonstrates that by moving between graceful, breathy singing with piano to something much more glitchy, broken up and bassy. The moving ‘Conversations’ notes how “I’m still your little girl”,the string laden ‘Invisible City’ hits the sweet spot, while the opening ‘All That Matters’ is a sweeping beauty. It is a wonderfully open and uplifting response in the face of adversity.
5 out of 5
Reviewed by Ben Hogwood
HANNAH PEEL – AWAKE BUT ALWAYS DREAMING – MY OWN PLEASURE
