Tu Fawning – Hearts on Hold

Hearts on Hold is the first flowering of a collaboration between fellow Portlanders Joe Haege (of 31Knots) and singer Corrina Repp. Although the pair are known, respectively, for indie rock and understated folk, in Tu Fawning they have embraced the liberating possibilities of the side-project. The result is a strangely compelling mixture of thudding, repetitive drums, piano, organ and horns; refreshingly little guitar is in evidence here.

In its boldly minimalist approach, marrying simple loops to insistent percussion, Hearts on Hold sounds at times like a darker, doped-up cousin to Sleigh Bells’ Treats. What they lack in that band’s harsh energy is here compensated for by a wider emotional range, from the haunting melancholy of opener Multiply a House, to the Fleet Foxes-esque Just Too Much. Although the sonic palette does start to run dry towards the end, this is for the most part a compelling vindication of Tu Fawning’s willingness to leave their comfort zones. [Sam Wiseman]