BELLA700V
"Lost Horizon’s debut album Ojalá, another great and late arrival, coming at the beginning of November, titled similarly to one of my favorite movies of all time and its wonderful story of Shangri-La.
The Bella Union label has been making artist-inspired music for 20 years and I have been a fan since they signed Jonathan Wilson. Jonathan has a new album due on the label next year, as do another of my favorite bands, The Innocence Mission. Simon Raymonde, formerly of Scottish band Cocteau Twins, is the label’s producer and manager, and for Lost Horizons he has teamed up with drummer Richie Thomas, of Dif Juz and who also played with the Cocteau Twins. The duo wrote and performed most of the music on Ojalá and hand-picked some of the best vocal talent on the planet to sing on it: Karen Parris, the voice of The Innocence Mission; Tim Smith of Midlake (who are now also part of the Bella Union starfield); Soffie Viemose, Gemma Dunleavy, Marissa Nadler, Ed Riman, and Beth Cannon. These are vocalists that once familiar with you will want to hear again with their own projects.
Fifteen wonderful songs of melancholy fill Ojalá, opening with Bones and the stunning vocals of Beth Cannon, who took me immediately back to Kate Bush’s Sat in Your Lap, only this song is more sultry, better lyrics and a befitting tempo. Add Jonathan Wilson’s synth and what we have is a killer opening. But, it gets even better! My second favorite track here, The Places We’ve Been, features Karen Parris’ lead vocals. I hadn’t heard anything new from her in years, so it was nice to hear her voice again, and more so as this is a very Innocence Mission song which would fit perfectly on my favorite album of theirs, Glow."