Surely the most reliable record label on the planet, Bella Union seem to already be lining up some of the most exciting records of 2016, including Promise & The Monster’s first release for the label. The work of Stockholm based Billie Lindhall, “Feed The Fire” is an album that seeks to challenge the listener, seeking to find the beauty and pain in opening one’s emotions to destructive forces, There’s something in the guitar that reminds me of Echo & The Bunnymen, but in a broad picture, this isn’t like that at all. I’m struggling to find a “sounds like” comparison, but this should certainly appeal to fans of Cocteaus and The Bunnymen.
Promise and The Monster is the stage name of based dark indie-dream-folk songstress Billie Lindahl. She started the project in 2007 and has released two albums. After a break of more than four years, her third album “Feed The Fire” comes out tomorrow via Bella Union. It’s said that she simultaneously explores areas of light and dark, birth and death. These are not meant to be contradictory forces, but rather complimentary. And it’s all about finding the balance. She says the album’s title plays into that a little bit. Fire can kill you, but it can also give you life. So you have to keep it going and respect it.
Recorded with friend and producer Love Martinsen, the pair set out to create a darker and more mechanical version of the elegant pop-records of the 1960’s; as Billie puts it, “a Lee Hazlewood song on top of Nico’s late eighties records”. Feed The Fire is an ambitious record that pairs the hazy-atmospherics of Warpaint with the lush orchestral flourish of Scott Walker and the gloomy Southern-Gothic of Timber Timbre, a very good place to be we’re sure you’ll agree.
The Fat Angel Sings 