ALICE COSTELLOE - Move On With The Year

Elegance and originality: these two creative canvases underpin "Move On With The Year", the solo debut of Alice Costelloe, formerly a member of britpop band Superfood and of the erratic dream-pop/shoegaze outfit Big Deal.

The minimalism of the compositions and arrangements, applied to dream-pop and indie-folk, works splendidly on this debut album from the London-based singer-songwriter. The sound is partly what the two EPs preceding the album had already hinted at. Moog and other synthesizers duet with acoustic guitars, flutes and drum machines. The themes are the recurring ones of the new generations: fraught relationships with parents, emotional and physical precariousness, memories and regrets. But the mood is never mournful, rather resigned and wisely conciliatory.

Bittersweet, at times slightly surreal, "Move On With The Year" is even a moving record. The slow pulse of the rhythms, the dreamy, imaginative vocals, and the contrast between the icy rhythmic timbre and the gentle touch of the flute create an estranging effect. The prevailing sensation is one of generational and temporal incommunicability that shakes the soul: the synth turbulence on "If I Could Reach You" is exemplary in this respect.

Despite genuinely strong lyrics centred on a conflicted relationship with an ever-present father and endless trips back and forth to hospital wards, Alice Costelloe's album finds much of its interest in its sonic formula. The production by Mike Lindsay (Laura Marling's partner in Laura Marling in Lump) shifts the axis from alt-rock to folktronica (the dreamy "Too Late Now") and 60s and 70s psychedelia (the introspective goth-folk of "Feet On The Sand"), letting pop souls filter through without altering the bittersweet tone of the album (the naive folk-pop of "Damned If You Do").

For devotees of contemporary singer-songwriters, the comparison with artists like Angel Olsen ("Every Time") or Lael Neale ("Anywhere Else") will be immediate, but listeners with a longer memory will be surprised by echoes of Leslie Duncan ("Of Course I Know") and will appreciate the artist's skill in handling simple, charmingly pop material ("How Can I") without giving up the unshakeable calm of the atmospheres ("Is There Something (Goodbye)") that is one of the winning elements of a mature, accomplished debut.

Ride the wave of great music

Add OndaRock to your favorite sources on Google Discover. Don't miss our reviews, milestones and latest news straight in your feed.

Follow on Google

21/02/2026