PRESS
reviews of The Safety Of The North
As this quite marvelous journey reaches its pinnacle it struck me how much I had invested in this record, from its hopeful beginnings, to the apprehension I felt when things didn't seem right, through to the overall empathy or hope I felt towards Alice. This is clearly down to the strength of Richardson's writing, an ability that has the listener wrapped in the intricacies of his ‘script' much like that of a film.
It's difficult not to connect with The Safety of the North; it truly is. In one way it's a huge helping of snowblind delight, cubes of brilliance flashing the way Ulrich Schnauss used to. In others, it's something more perilous: a wide, rumbling desert becomes submarine beauty
On one of the albums most charming and effective pieces, "Thoughts of Alice", Neamh Rose Breen's child-like spoken-word gambit, set against a solemn organ refrain and cool atmospherics, lends the piece a portentous feel. Its promises are made good through the remaining pieces, a series of elaborations and extensions on these unresolved sentiments, which make this Richardson's most accomplished work yet.
The sixty-five-minute collection merges field recordings, vocal elements, acoustic instruments, and electronics into a narrative whole that's never less than engaging and often powerfully affecting in its humanistic character.
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Here's a few links to reviews of the current album 'these places are now ruins'
Angry Ape "These Place Are Now Ruins" is simply an enthralling piece of work. It portrays Graham Richardson as an honest artist, unafraid to express his innermost feelings on life.
Textura These Places Are Now Ruins includes numerous lovely moments, such as the blurry string-drenched overture "Station," which finds Richardson gravitating towards Eluvium territory
The Irish Times These Places Are Now Ruins is a beautiful achievement. Highly recommended.
grooves
'...this debut album on the ever-reliable n5MD label certainly comes across as one of the most cinematic and evocative that it's put out out in a while...'
'...last days' sea is the perfect sound track to that late night hour when the crimson sky fades into total darkness. Elegiac, introspective and hypnotic...'
'...Sea is an album that is as stark as it is rich, it is Richardson's manipulation of this disparity that makes his debut LP such an intoxicated suspension of sound..'
'...Sea is brought to fruition with an honesty and deftness of touch that will certainly leave its mark on you if you allow it. A fine record - the sort that can bring new respect to a label...'
'...Yet the overriding impression is one of optimism. Last days can only give way to new beginnings. So it is that Sea represents neither death nor doom but rather change. And since change is the only constant in our entire lives, it could therefore follow that Sea just might become the soundtrack of our existence.'
boring machines disturbs sleep - music blog review
'...The album is intended to be listened as a whole, rather in seperate tracks. After a few listens, though, the subtle chord changes, static noises, muffled beats and strummed guitars soon start to become familiar, making this a very warm release.'
de:bug magazine (in german)
'..."Sea" bears its title very well, being a collection of 14 very "flowing" and encompassing soundscapes full of melancholy, bleakness and emotion.'