Coriallo by Heligoland (Review)

Would it have made sense for anyone besides Robin Guthrie to produce Heligoland’s Coriallo? I suspect your answer will be “Absolutely not” within the first 15 seconds of “Ełk” and its blissed out guitar cascades. The Paris-based Australian trio pick up right where Guthrie’s Cocteau Twins left off, albeit with a solemnity that’s reminiscent of Low’s glacial compositions.

Each one of Dave Olliffe’s guitar notes is immaculate in tone and purity, as if crafted from the finest glass, and Steve Wheeler’s basslines are subtle and understated. Meanwhile, Karen Vogt’s voice rarely engages in the sort of glossolalia gymnastics that Elizabeth Fraser performed so effortlessly; instead, Vogt’s voice is richer and deeper, drawing out every single word for maximum emotional affect.

When Vogt sings “We watch the sky and ache for love to lift us high/Our hungry minds are never satisfied with what is real” (“Anavo”) or “The heart is programmed to be broken” (“Trust”) backed by her bandmates’ wistful arrangements, it’s the sweetest sounding existential angst you’re ever likely to hear.