New Fragility LP (Color)

Personal yet universal, New Fragility confronts numerous modern ills. “It’s pretty personal,” says Ounsworth. “It’s about what I think we’re all experiencing at the moment, certainly here in the United States anyway - trying to move forward amidst an almost cruel uncertainty.” Taken from the David Foster Wallace short story ‘Forever Overheard’, from the collection Brief Interviews With Hideous Men – “You have grown into a new fragility,” says the story’s adolescent narrator – the title track documents what happens directly after a long relationship comes to an end, and what’s discovered soon after. The album contains some of Ounsworth’s strongest vocals yet – a quivering beacon that shifts from a wail to a low grumble in the blink of an eye, a remarkable expressive instrument that sits perfectly amid the understanded orchestration. For over 15 years, it’s been one of music’s most distinctive voices, and it’s never sounded as rich or poised.