If You Leave (Daughter album)

Background

Daughter formed in 2010, originally intended to showcase the solo work of singer Elena Tonra, until she was joined by guitarist Igor Haefeli and drummer Remi Aguilella. They released the Demos EP which started word of mouth on the band, Daughter self-released their debut EP, His Young Heart, on April 20, 2011. Later that same year, they released another EP, The Wild Youth, on October 2 through artist-led Communion Records. The latter EP earned praise from British website For Folk’s Sake who described Daughter as "one of the most unique sounds in the pop landscape today." BBC Radio 1 DJ Huw Stephens also invited them to perform a Maida Vale Session for his show. In 2012 the band were signed to 4AD and began work on their debut album.

Recording

Haefeli explained that their approach was that: "we never really rehearsed the songs before recording them. It was really written in the flat and then just recorded in the studio, where a lot of parts came up". The band re-recorded a new version of the song "Youth" in a live setting.

Chart performance

On 18 March 2013 Daughter released If You Leave and it reached #4 on the UK indie album chart, and #16 on the Top 100. Before the release of If You Leave they released the first single off the album "Smother" in October. It was playlisted by both BBC Radio 1 and 6Music, while being awarded Single of the Week by long-time supporter Huw Stephens. Later on the band released promotional single "Still" which had no official cover and a music video for the song was released on 24 January 2013, directed by Iain Forsyth and Jane Pollard. After the release of the album they released the second single from the album "Human" on 29 April 2013 on seven-inch vinyl. During the week of 5 May 2013, the song "Youth" was released as a Free Single of the Week on the iTunes Store. As of January 2016, the album has sold 74,489 copies in the UK.

Critical reception

The album has received positive reviews from critics. It was positively reviewed by BBC Music, who described the sound as "instantly enchanting of design", "wholly hypnotic" and "more engaging than many a peer's offerings." The Guardian, who rated the album a three out of five, offered a mixed review, characterizing the sound as "atmospheric, but...calculatingly so, especially set against [Tonra's] overwrought poetry."

Track listing

All tracks written by Elena Tonra and Igor Haefeli, except where noted.

Personnel