Follow @muzik_speaks Tweet to @muzik_speaks
George FitzGerald is an English, electronic musician who previously worked for London label, Black Market Records, but after relocating to Berlin in 2010, began recording and releasing his own music. 2015 saw the release of his debut album, Fading Love, and now in 2018, he’s releasing his second record, All That Must Be. Here’s what we have to say about it…
The album opens to the sounds of the hustle and bustle outside FitzGerald’s London studio, nicely setting the theme for the rest of the record, which very much echos the thrum of urban life.
In amongst the production, vocals are present, however, save for the tracks with guest vocalists, Lil Silva and Tracey Thorn (Everything But The Girl), they are barely recognisable, through much distortion and production wizardry. This is executed perfectly though, as they blend so well with the instrumentation, that it actually takes a few listens to properly realise they are in fact vocals.
George further explains, “In many of the songs the vocals are disembodied and processed to the point you can’t make out what they’re saying. I wanted that to mirror the uncanniness you feel when a massive event happens in your life. Everything looks and sounds the same but it’s somehow different. Your surroundings are less intelligible.” This is very much reflected in the album’s lead single ‘Burns’, which was also played regularly on Radio 1.
This album is a complete body of artistic work that has a unique story-like quality to it.
All That Must Be is very much an album of music that brilliantly depicts urban life. It is almost a soundtrack to the commotion of a city and represents the rhythm and heartbeat that so many cities often seem to have.
On first listen it’s easy to feel like all the tracks on the album are quite similar and that it stays the same from start to finish. However, it’s only when you listen again that you can truly appreciate just what a remarkable piece George FitzGerald has created, with subtle, intricate variations and changes in atmosphere. This is a complete body of artistic work that has a unique story-like quality to it. It might not be to everyone’s taste but it is astounding how an almost entirely instrumental album, can so clearly illustrate a picture in the mind and audibly represent so many moods. It’s both hypnotic and melancholic in places and there is a real sense of motion about it; it certainly doesn’t stand still.
Some of the most stand-out tracks are ‘Frieda’ for its meditative quality, ‘Burns’, for simply being the monster track that it is and ‘Roll Back’ and ‘Half-Light (Night Version)’ for their collaborations with Lil Silva and Tracey Thorn, respectively.
This is a record that could easily be experienced and enjoyed on a long drive at night, with the warm summer air breezing through the open windows or as something to ultimately sit back, relax and chill out to.
Rating
‘All That Must Be’ is out now and can be downloaded from iTunes – https://itunes.apple.com/gb/album/all-that-must-be/1322664114
All That Must Be on Spotify
Roll Back featuring Lil Silva (Official Video)
Burns (Official Audio)
George FitzGerald Tour Dates
All tickets are on general sale now, via www.george-fitzgerald.com.
19 March – Munich, DE – Ampere
20 March – Berlin, DE – Schwuz
21 March – Cologne, DE – Yuca
22 March – Paris, FR – Nouveau Casino
23 March – Brussels, BE – AB Club
24 March – Utrecht, NL – Catch Festival
26 March – Brighton, GB – The Haunt
27 March – London, GB – Islington Assembly Hall
28 March – Glasgow, GB – The Art School
29 March – Manchester, GB – Gorilla
09 May – San Francisco, US – The Independent
10 May – Echo Park, US – The Echo
12 May – Salt Lake City, US – Kilby Court Gallery
13 May – Denver, US – Larimer Lounge
15 May – Chicago, US – Subterranean
16 May – Toronto, CA – Drake Hotel
17 May – Montreal, CA – Bar le Ritz PDB
18 May – Boston, US – Great Scott
19 May – New York, US – Rough Trade
We hope you’ve enjoyed our review of George FitzGerald’s second album, All That Must Be! What do you think of it and what would you rate it? Please let us know your thoughts in a comment or share your feelings about it via our social media.
Enjoyed this? Check out some of our other reviews here:
Muzik Speaks Album Reviews
Matt – Muzik Speaks
www.facebook.com/muzikspeaks
www.twitter.com/muzik_speaks
Muzik Speaks 