''Axes'' is the third album by English rock group Electrelane. For the mostly instrumental album, Electrelane once again returned to Steve Albini's studio in

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

. In the first recording session for ''Axes'', the band played through the entire album in one take. This reflected the band's desire to have listeners experience the band's live show. Emma Gaze explained the album was recorded "the way we rehearse and practise: we all stand in a circle and it is very relaxed. Our previous recording experiences have been with the bass in one room, the drums in a different room, the two guitarists in a different room and then the vocals are done afterwards. Obviously it works like that because that is how most bands do it. But we just wanted it to sound more live; there is a different kind of energy that comes from playing in the same room."

Verity Susman Verity Susman is an English songwriter, composer, singer and multi-instrumentalist. She is best known as a founding member and the frontwoman of the English indie rock band Electrelane. Music career Following classical piano, clarinet and sax ...

said that "We see the record as a continuous piece of music, not a collection of songs. It also reflects the way we improvise, moving from one idea to the next without a clear break. It’s also how we play live." The album was released on 9 May 2005 to mixed, but generally positive reviews.

Track listing

All songs written by Electrelane and Verity Susman, except where noted. # "One, Two, Three, Lots" – 1:44 # "Bells" – 4:38 # "Two for Joy" – 5:58 # "If Not Now, When?" – 5:47 # "Eight Steps" – 5:01 # "Gone Darker" – 7:05 # "Atom's Tomb" – 2:08 # "Business or Otherwise" – 5:47 # "Those Pockets Are People" – 5:02 # " The Partisan" ( Anna Marly, Hy Zaret) – 2:32 # "I Keep Losing Heart" – 3:41 # "Come Back" – 0:07 # "Suitcase" (Electrelane, Ros Murray) – 9:46

Personnel

– organ,

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

piano A piano is a keyboard instrument that produces sound when its keys are depressed, activating an Action (music), action mechanism where hammers strike String (music), strings. Modern pianos have a row of 88 black and white keys, tuned to a c ...

, harmonium,

saxophone The saxophone (often referred to colloquially as the sax) is a type of single-reed woodwind instrument with a conical body, usually made of brass. As with all single-reed instruments, sound is produced when a reed on a mouthpiece vibrates to p ...

vocals Singing is the art of creating music with the voice. It is the oldest form of musical expression, and the human voice can be considered the first musical instrument. The definition of singing varies across sources. Some sources define sing ...

, brass arrangement, choir arrangement * Emma Gaze –

drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

s * Mia Clarke –

* Ros Murray –

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and in modern forms is usually made of plastic, where early membranes were made of animal skin. ...

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

cello The violoncello ( , ), commonly abbreviated as cello ( ), is a middle pitched bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), tuned i ...

* Amy Larsen –

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...

* Dasun Sinder –

French horn The French horn (since the 1930s known simply as the horn in professional music circles) is a brass instrument made of tubing wrapped into a coil with a flared bell. The double horn in F/B (technically a variety of German horn) is the horn most o ...

* Chicago a cappella – vocals *

Steve Albini Steven Frank Albini (; July 22, 1962 – May 7, 2024) was an American musician and audio engineer. He founded and fronted the influential post-hardcore and noise rock bands Big Black (1981–1987), Rapeman (1987–1989) and Shellac (band), ...

–

engineer Engineers, as practitioners of engineering, are professionals who Invention, invent, design, build, maintain and test machines, complex systems, structures, gadgets and materials. They aim to fulfill functional objectives and requirements while ...

* Steve Rooke – mastering

Release history

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Axes (Album) 2005 albums Electrelane albums Albums produced by Steve Albini Too Pure albums