Hadar Manor’s new album ‘The Year & Now’ is a wistful, contemplative concept album. Each song represents a month of the year and, you guessed it, this means there’s twelve tracks.
My favourite track has to be March Song, but all of the tracks seem to be singing from the same hymn sheet. They are largely based around soft appreggios and wooly chords. The simple instrumentation gives the album a real intimacy and immediacy.
Hadar’s voice matches the music perfectly, with her gentle, vulnerable whispers, which are at times traded in for a more triumphant tone.
The over arching theme of the album is that of human resilience. The very nature of the album’s concept suggests that we are all trapped in a yearly cycle, where hopes and dreams are not always realised, but we continue to hope. Hope is what stops the album being a depressing treatise on the futility of human endeavour. If we fail, we dust ourselves off and continue trying.
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The final track ‘December Song (My Wish)’ really reinforces this concept. At the end of each year there is always the wish for self improvement and a dream of a better year ahead.
If you like your folk gentle, delicate and thoughtful then Hadar Manor’s ‘The Year & Now’ should make for some enjoyable listening.
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