Germany's THERE'S A LIGHT To Release Sophomore Album In December Via Napalm Records; "Elpis" Music Video Streaming
October 6, 2021, 3 years ago
Just recently, German quintet There's A Light inked a worldwide record deal with Napalm Records. Now, the promising discovery announces its second album f̶o̶r̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶ ̶I ̶h̶o̶pe̶? for what must we hope? for release on December 10.
With their symbiosis of ambient post-rock, There's A Light create an atmospheric, multi-layered soundscape, setting a trance-like state of mind. Some of the eleven stirring songs are underlined by soulful, carefully placed vocals and everything earthly seems to fade away when the hauntingly beautiful sounds envelops the listener in all-consuming atmosphere.
Today, the Black Forest post-rockers offer a first glimpse of their upcoming second full-length by unveiling the passionate first single, "Elpis", alongside a breathtaking music video. “Elpis” invites the listener on a journey into a dreamy experience that comes close to an out-of-body experience. The sporadic presence of Andreas Richau's gentle voice seems to become one with the spherical cascades of sound and resembles a falling raindrop hitting the ocean, there to blur into infinity.
There's A Light on “Elpis”: “We’re excited! Not only because this is our first single of the new album but because this is our first music video ever! This song is about Elpis, the personification and spirit of hope in ancient Greece. We put it into another context and wrote a new story. Hope can lead you to false ends, but they were probably there from the start - you just couldn’t see them. To overcome these obstacles is the message of the song, which usually only works if there is hope left."
Watch the music video for “Elpis” below.
Thematically, on f̶o̶r̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶ ̶I ̶h̶o̶pe̶? for what must we hope? There's A Light take a deeper look at the question of the true meaning of hope as well as at the different facets of it: On the one hand, hope can be something positive - a flourishing force that always gives a new impulse to grow beyond oneself. On the other hand, it can also do harm, for example, if one holds on to something that will never become reality.
The radiant album opener "...The Storm Will Set The Sails" immediately enchants with its shimmering melody and great arrangements, while the following "Within The Tides" presents a more dramatic, progressive touch with impressive technique and rhythm. The driving "Like The Earth Orbits Sun" is one of the tracks that features bassist Andreas Richau's captivating, emotional vocals, along with the multi-faceted exclamation point "Elpis" and spherical "Be Brave, Fragile Heart". "Dark Clouds Behind, Bright Skies Ahead" and "Appearance Of Earth" open up another spectrum of sound and expand the cosmos with the passionate cello playing of guest musician Akito Goto. The grand finale "Even In The Darkest Place..." weaves powerful instrumentation with dreamy moments into a harmonious overall construct, once again underscoring a hypnotic post-rock experience in the style of bands like God Is An Astronaut, Russian Circles and Sigur Ros.
There's A Light on the new album: "So, we asked ourselves what hope stands for and what it means to us. We had a lot of conversations within the band about the good but also the bad aspects of hope and our experiences with it. And we got answers and inspiration by history and philosophy. Like Kant who has extremely positive views on this topic - hope is necessity for human existence, it’s not seen by him as a personal but collective thing. This is where the album title came from. The whole process of creating this album really took us on a journey and we found new ways to express our thoughts and feelings with our music. We took a few trips to France and wrote songs together in a cabin, but we also had to write a lot of parts simultaneously, since we are not living in one city any more. We had the chance to work together with new lovely people but we also reconnected with old partners in crime. All in all it wasn’t an easy journey, but now we made it and are happy and proud to finally release this album with Napalm Records!"
f̶o̶r̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶ ̶I ̶h̶o̶pe̶? for what must we hope? will be available in the following formats:
- Digipack
- 2LP Gatefold Black
- 2LP Gatefold in Marbled Curacao/Black (limited to 100 copies worldwide)
- 2LP Gatefold in Ocean Blue (limited to 300 copies worldwide)
- Digital Full Length Album
Pre-order here.
f̶o̶r̶ ̶w̶h̶a̶t̶ ̶m̶a̶y̶ ̶I ̶h̶o̶pe̶? for what must we hope? tracklisting:
"...The Storm Will Set The Sails"
"Within The Tides"
"Magnolia"
"Like The Earth Orbits Sun"
"Dark Clouds Behind, Bright Skies Ahead"
"Refugium"
"Elpis"
"Fear Keeps Pace With Hope"
"Be Brave, Fragile Heart"
"Appearance Of Earth"
"Even In The Darkest Place..."
"Elpis" video:
There's A Light is:
David Christmann - guitar
Jonas Obermüller - piano, synth percussion
Markus Dold - guitar
Andreas Richau – vocals, bass
Jan Lüftner - drums
(Photo - Nicolas Kuri)