Review By Lana Nimmons – 4/5 Dragons
From Junes Vandala Magazine – READ MORE REVIEWS HERE
A new and rare find, Dan Lyth, was born in the Middle East but has lived most of his life in Dunfermline, Fife. A sound designer by day, Lyth began work on Benthic Lines some five years ago, his intention to record an album entirely outdoors. On rooftops and rowing boats, in forests and high streets, mountains and quarries, ruined churches and beaches, car parks and peat bogs. When I found his album Benthic Lines, I absolutely devoured every note and texture enjoy every last bit like an exquisite dessert. There’s a true sense of humbleness in this album. The production is incredible, lyrically enchanting, and incredible grounded. Just as Dan envisioned, he recorded this album is whole outdoor in Scotland- incredible, I think so! There’s a mix of electronica, traditional instruments, keyboards and the use of repetition and loops of human voices and each track has its own allotted sound collage- a genuine art piece.
The instrumentation often begins sparsely, and builds in intelligently subtle ways throughout each track, save for a few times in space where the structure and timing of the songs play the key part in their growth. Within the sensuous warmth of the opening ‘All My Love’, Lyth’s plaintively expressive vocals resonate with warmth and sincerity as soft piano and brushed drums paint a calming atmospheric picture before ending with some enchanting horns. With every track you can almost smell the fresh air rolling in from the Highlands.
Your first listen as you wait for the songs to unfold like a great novel; they aren’t linear, and that is one of many reasons why I absolutely adore this album.
Vandala Magazine 