Another breakout artist , Jordan White arguably delivered one of 2016’s best local albums with his Braille Face debut, Kōya.
His year got off to an encouraging start when he was named a the first signing to Spirit Level, the revived indie label launched by Double J’s Tim Shiel and Wally ‘Gotye’ De Backer, the latter of whom he spent time with , recording a bunch of material “most likely” destined to land on his second album.
Upon his return, he knocked over a slew of well-received live outings — including his sublime showing at Bigsound and ended the year riding high, hopefully safe in the knowledge that he’d created something really special along the way. We genuinely cannot wait to see what comes next.
It comes as no small surprise that an album is now coming our way from Braille Face (AKA Jordan White), but what will continue to make us all wonder, is how on earth he managed to narrow his Rolodex of songs down to just one album of 12 songs.
‘Because’ is the third taster we have for what to expect from Kōya. It’s very different to ‘Glow’ and ‘Backwards/Medicated’, but the consistency between all the tracks is Braille Face’s voice. It’s emotional, captivating, and somehow both smooth and raspy. This track is certainly something slower, it has a distinct raw edge where the other tracks have been filled with sound, and yet this track is still full in its own way.
The track is full of soft piano, and a pretty neat sound that is reminiscent of a piano accordion. It leaves plenty of room for you to be transported into the cold hard world the lyrics are describing, and yet, the piano alone would fill you with beautiful thoughts of a warm spring day.
Taken from Braille Face’s debut album Kōya, to be released August 31st via Spirit Level/Inertia.
Written and performed by Braille Face.
Piano by Luke Howard.
The Fat Angel Sings 