Reviews
STEWART LEE, THE SUNDAY TIMES , JUNE 11 2006
Scott Walker's The Drift left critics exposed. The uncompromising record achieved its ambitious objectives, so was worthy of full marks. Its sometimes reduced critical ratings reflected only reviewers' fears that readers would loathe it. Likewise, the Aberdeen duo Tells have spent so long refining their art, under various aliases, that your opinion is largely irrelevant. The unapologetic Hope Your Wounds Heal asks us to trust its creators, who know not what we want, but what we need. A sales pitch would cite echoes of Bjšrk, Miles Davis and Gil Evans, and the Chicago post-rock crowd, but this remarkable album is bigger than the sum of its influences.
Four stars
Read review
A PURE GEM TO WARM THE COCKLES
05/05/06 - BOOKMAT
This was a big surprise to us here, and has barely come off the office stereo for the past couple of weeks. The project of Caroline Ross (known for her work with Susumu Yokota) and Jim Version (who has recorded albums for Bonnie Prince Billy and Alasdair Roberts among others), 'Hope All Your Wounds Heal' is a subtle blend of delicate post rock (in the vein of label mates Bark Psychosis for want of a comparison) and slowcore indie a-la Low, etched with the quasi-quirky handling of Psapp somewhere along the line. The gorgeously realised tracks are carried by Ross's addictive vocals, which are clear and unpretentious, hauntingly propelling the album and giving the tracks an emotional resonance which is hard to forget. Anyone searching for an alternative pop record with genuine emotion and a strong line in deft originality should look no further than this album, it manages to experiment successfully without ever disappearing into it's indulgence - ending up with a pure gem to warm the cockles. Highly Recommended.
GIGWISE.COM
'Instant cures are us' sing Jim Version and Caroline Ross on swirling moody album opener 'What Does Your Angel Do?' On one level, not a truer word could be uttered Ð in a music scene that has become diseased with stagnant post-Libertine/post-Artic Monkey tripe, Tells' avant-garde Jazz inspired atmospheric Indie provides a perfectly refreshing cure. But this tonic is far from instant Ð 'Hope Your Wounds Heal' is not background music. This is not easy listening; in order to get the most out of this beautiful release, you will have to be willing to put in some dedicated time Ð but if you do, the rewards are phenomenal. Throughout the album, the ex-Delicate Awol members enlist the help of several super-talented friends to create a well-structured mess of conflicting sounds. 'Boot Dust Clouds' for example, mixes free jazz style time signatures with full sounding vocals and a funk-driven bassline, all played wonderfully out-of-sync. What should, on paper, be a confusing pile of crap quickly becomes a well-constructed beautifully mesmerizing composition. 'Cicadas' uses minimalist bursts of muted strings which act as a tenacious backbone to a meandering bass/drum accompaniment - the effect is sparse, but far from lacking. As clichéd as it may sound, pauses, rests and silences speak volumes, which leave you anxiously awaiting the next beat, wherever it may fall. And these erratic bursts are not confined to musical accompaniment - Ross' vocals on tracks such as 'Grey Stones' have shades of early Bjork in their sporadic delivery. Standout track 'Falling' exemplifies the band's ability to find magnificence in disorder - what starts off sounding like a band tuning up, a drummer going mental, and chaotic mess of totally unrelated noise, emerges an expertly constructed package. With vocals are more layered than a Lasagne sandwich, the track becomes an exciting, textured soundscape about which you could wander for hours. Whispered Japanese vocals in the sublime 'Their Chimes Are Our Undoing' are as alien and difficult to comprehend as the complicated time signatures and unfamiliar structures spattered throughout the album. But rather than inaccessible and obscure, these vocals, as well as the band's experimental jazz-psychedelia style, are intriguing, and ultimately, thoroughly invigorating. It's certainly not the kind of music you'd play at a club, but 'Hope Your Wounds Heal' is a beautiful post-rock/avant-jazz masterpiece that will give your ears a real workout. 4/5 STARS. Thom Gulseven
