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Press
Reviews and press for Alone Again Records releases.
The Electric Newspaper
Rating: 76%
Recorded by Machine Translations' J. Walker, A Street Between Us is streets ahead of Heligoland’s debut album, Shift These Thoughts. Three years separates the releases in time, but the use of mood and light and shade is more controlled this time around.
A lot of this may have to do with Walker's involvement. He's famed for getting bands to sound exactly how they want to be, and there is the sense within A Street Between Us that everything has been tightened and coiled just so, resulting in a more consistent effort from the band.
It’s noticeable in the song lengths, which for the most part have shrunk to around three-and-a-half minutes, and on the likes of "How to Travel Underwater" there’s a lulling sense of possibility to the song until it does open up and reveal Karen Vogt’s powerful vocals.
Where Shift These Thoughts didn’t have any 'songs' per se, A Street Between Us works so well because the eleven moments here are not just beautiful-sounding but also emotionally engaging and always try to engage the listener. It’s still circling around the slowcore sound, but Heligoland know exactly what they’re doing, and how to do it well.
db Magazine (24/5/06)
I can't say it often enough: J Walker, more often known as Machine Translations, is a genius. Not only is his own music impeccable but everything he touches turns to gold. Now I know that Walker could not have been responsible for the disconcerting beauty of Karen Vogt's voice (quite clearly the most exquisitely melancholic voice I've heard in a very long time, if not ever); but let's just say he makes wise choices when it comes to production projects. Heligoland's 'A Street Between Us' is understated, ambitious and stunning, and is likely to be one of the most amazing Australian records of the year.
Nearly Everything Is New starts things off spectacularly, featuring a harmony so alarming it becomes hypnotic. Look Out Ahead builds to a sound that is somehow both huge, yet still affectingly small (don't ask me how). Parachute Fields launches out of a guitar melody that floats over you, watchfully, and a drumbeat that changes, one beat at a time, without warning. Almost People is the musical equivalent of spaceflight, just as Red Pocket descends several kilometres into the earth's crust.
The natural talents and personality of Heligoland match Walker's impressive musical and arrangement sensibilities delightfully. It sometimes dives a little to keenly off the slow end, and is somewhat more suited to light ambience than intense concentration; but for Vogt's voice alone, 'A Street Between Us' is surely a standout.
Ben Revi
Sydney Morning Herald (26/4/06)
By Jason Blake
The sound of mid-'90s Melbourne looms large in the dreamy soundscapes of Heligoland.
Artist: Heligoland
Genre: Pop, Alternative/Indie
Label: Alone Again Records/MGM
Chilly and remote pretty much sums up Heligoland, the tiny island in the North Sea between the coasts of Germany and Denmark, but it doesn't capture the warmth of the Melbourne quartet who have borrowed its name.
The sound of mid-'90s Melbourne – the Underground Lovers in particular - looms large in the dreamy soundscapes created by Karen Vogt, Peter McKeown, Steve Wheeler and Bek Varcoe, as do the more recent folk-pop musings of Minneapolis trio Low.
Producer J. Walker (who manned the desk for the recent Whitlams album) drapes the guitar chimes around the soft but sonorous voice of Karen Vogt and the overall result, although it sounds soporific in print, is actually quite invigorating.
Drum Media (29/3/06)
Having released their debut album Shift These Thoughts to rave reviews way back in 2003, Heligoland have made us wait much too long for a follow-up. For fans of the Melbourne quartet's fragile songwriting, A Street Between Us is a welcome return from one of the more interesting groups currently populating the fringes of what we call 'indie rock.'
Heligoland's not-so-secret weapon is Karen Vogt, whose strong-yet-delicate vocals carry the eleven songs on A Street Between Us above slowcore cliche'. It's difficult to imagine songs like Look Out Ahead or Nearly Everything Is New having the same resonating emotional impact without her. Which isn't to suggest that the rest of Heligoland are mere sluggards serving as The Karen Vogt Band. Their stark, haunting playing brings to mind the bleak post-rock of Low or the wistful minimalism of Galaxie 500, qualities which when combined with Vogt's heartbreaking tones make A Street Between Us something special indeed.
If there's one thing this album isn't, it's cluttered. Space has always been a necessary component of Heligoland's sound, and with help from the sympathetic ear of producer J. Walker the band have crafted an album full of wide-open spaces.
A Street Between Us is undoubtedly a beautiful record. It does have a tendency to wear its influences on it its sleeve, and nobody could accuse Heligoland of trying to reinvent the wheel. However, there is an intimate honest to this band that is hard to fault.
Adam D. Mills
Forte Magazine 23/3/06
A Street Between Us has a fragile beauty, which Heligoland with producer J. Walker (Machine Translations), have been careful to preserve. Rather than drench their songs in clichéd conventions, the band has used understated arrangements and haunting vocals to create a poignant record.
With its lullaby tempo and consistent sound, Heligoland's second album will probably not hit the roof. In the wrong mood, A Street Between Us is plain boring. But for peaceful reflective music, 'Coming Up For Air', 'Obelix' and the title track are almost without comparison. The innovative basslines, the ethereal guitar and alternately despondent and optimistic melodies will appeal to fans of artists like Art of Fighting and Cat Power.
Even the most narrow-minded metal head will weep upon hearing this. Not the album to play at your party - unless you want it to get all introspective - but an enchanting listen nonetheless.
Chris Dickinson
mess+noise Magazine (Mar/Apr 2006)
by Emmy Hennings
Some people have voices made of the purest melancholy. You know that they could sing 'Happy Birthday' and it would still come out sounding like a funeral lament. So it is for Karen Vogt, whose sighing, almost overwrought cadences you'll either love or hate. Heligoland specialize in an echoing, plangent sadness over which Vogt rolls her treacle voice. Not for everyone, but gorgeous if you get it. A Street Between Us is a much more immediate album than 2003's Shift These Thoughts, with tighter song structures and less atmospheric guitar noodling. The musical palate is slow and simple: 'How To Travel Underwater' features plunking piano; 'Almost People' sounds like it was recorded in a Leslie cabinet, all quavering, distant notes; and the wonderful Adam Cole turns up for backing vocals on the title track. Worth your time and patience.
Timeoff Magazine (March 2006)
The sublime pop of this quartet has aged like wine over the many years since their debut release, this second album a testament to the power that can be drawn from the subtlety and restraint of these well-crafted ballads.
With sounds and songs tinged with melancholy and bittersweet love, there’s an air of sophistication that flows through these ten songs, reminiscent of Sea Life Park or Augie March.
The notes hang heavily on the vocals of Karen Vogt, her sombre voice in songs such as ‘Parachute Fields’ and ‘Red Pocket’ filled with a yearning and desire that make A Street Between Us an album that will either bring you down or bring you to your knees.
3.5/5 Jo Hill