Ólafur Arnalds & Talos
A Dawning
OPIA COMMUNITY/MERCURY KX
ABOVE THE CURRENT
The only respectful way to introduce the heartbreaking A Dawning is by briefly detailing the circumstances of its creation. Icelandic composer Ólafur Arnalds met Irish indietronica musician Talos (a.k.a. Eoin French) in 2023 when both artists were undertaking residencies at a festival in Cork, Ireland. They hit it off and French visited Arnalds at his studio in Reykjavik, where the two began work on a full-length project. However, during this time, French had taken ill. He eventually returned home to Cork, where Arnalds joined him again. They continued working, despite it being clear French was unwell. He died last August before A Dawning was completed, leaving Arnalds to finish their collaboration.
The resulting album is, predictably, a devastating listen. A seamless blend of its creators’ sensibilities, these eight tracks fuse Arnalds’ gentle pianos and crisp soundscapes with French’s poignant electronica and singular voice. It’s the remarkable textural synchronicity of these artistic polarities that gives the album its heart-clasping power. On “Signs,” one of A Dawning’s most soaring tracks (though still as gentle as a snowflake falling on the tip of your nose), beautiful vocals and intricate piano follow a heartbeat-like pulse, as if the two musicians’ souls are colliding. “west cork, 12 feb” takes a far different route to the same destination, abstracting French’s voice atop some of Arnalds’ most simple piano lines, dissipating into the ether like two souls heading in different directions.
The title track honors both musicians in glorious fashion. French’s lyrics are stunning (“It feels like this war is our dawning / Don’t let that light outrun us yet”)—as is Arnalds’ orchestral composition, which was supposedly recorded only a week after French’s death. The track builds to a remarkable crescendo, the kind that makes you realize you’d been holding your breath once it ebbs away. Similarly lush orchestral instrumentation imbues closer “We Didn’t Know We Were Ready” with an elegiac feel, particularly a simple four-note violin motif that appears midway through with an elegance that’ll stop you firm in your tracks.
What’s perhaps most incredible about A Dawning is that, despite the circumstances of its creation, it never feels just plain sad. The emotions being explored here are so much richer, more complicated, and more transcendent than that. A top-to-bottom success and one of the most emotionally resonant albums you’ll hear this year, A Dawning will set your soul soaring.
