It’s the scourge of modernity that has many looking to the past; whether we really want to live in a world without cellphones, television or social media is a moot point, but still there are fewer and fewer windows into this rustic Nirvana.
Vashti Bunyan’s debut album Just Another Diamond Day has an incredibly rich backstory; written whilst she was on the road and then living in the Hebrides with then partner Robert Lewis, as beautiful as it sounded, it felt monochrome, a living museum exhibit rescued from an Albion almost gone. Released in 1970 it promptly flopped and Bunyan went on a sabbatical which lasted thirty years, before eventually realising that time and taste had made her something of an underground phenomenon.
Adorned with cover art painted by one of her now grown up children Lookaftering was a follow up which appeared half a decade on, even if not that length of time in the making. Offering mentorship to Devendra Banheart and assisted by the likes of Joanna Newsom, on it the singer had crafted a similar spell as before, her delicate, wavering voice seemingly more fragile than ever. This updated edition features demo versions and a live track which tell some more of the album’s story, but it’s still the core that dazzles, a place in which the listener can stare back at a time which now only appears to show itself to us from the wrong end of the telescope.
You can read a full review here.
The Voice Of Unreason 