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You might remember Kelli Ali from her days as lead singer of
dark trip-hoppers Sneaker Pimps. Responsible for monolithic
club hits like 'Spin Spin Sugar' and '6 Underground', her
deliciously smoky vocals lit up the heavy beats and breaks and
fascinated a generation of clubbers and producers alike. After
curiously being booted out, she went on to record 2 solo
releases which showcased a more ambient dreampop persona but
now on her third release, she has completely abandoned her
electro roots in favour of a timeless brand of pastoral-folk.
Influenced by her nomadic past, wherein she travelled across
California and Mexico, she playfully combines medieval and
baroque sensibilities with dark nu-folk to produce a sparsely
arranged and deeply emotive exploration of the female voice.
Produced by Max Richter, they join forces to conjure up richly
textured cinemascope tapestries.

At its best, 'Rocking Horse' plows the noir-ish and poignant
depths of candle-lit leftfield folk. 'One Day at a Time' stuns
with its emotional, slow-burning astral folk which takes cues
from Felt Mountain era Goldfrapp at their most magical, whilst
the beautifully executed 'The Savages' rekindles the 60's
medieval psychedelica of Linda Perhacs. You would expect to
find the swirling psyche-laced Americana of title track
'Rocking Horse' on the avant-rock Neurot label, what, with it
treading a buoyant path that continuously threatens to explode
through its emotively arranged utilisation of muffled
whispers, low-end percussives and atmospheric textures. 'The
Kiss' follows suit in a more tender vein before 'Flowers'
ambles with devastating subtly and melancholic prowess- its
haunting and spectral lament making full use of Richter's rich
and eerie textures. Littered between these tracks are
breezier, upbeat pieces that forgo the ghostly ambience of the
aforementioned tracks in favour of a more straight-edged
folk-pop approach. Near the end of the album, lead single
'What to Do' combines the best of both worlds by fusing the
optimistic with the haunting to create a dreamy slice of
vintage, cabaret-esque lounge-jazz that burns deep into the
cerebral.

'Rocking Horse' succeeds as a supremely powerful slice of dark
pastoral folk that creates a dreamy and enchanting atmosphere
that is as vintage as it is timeless. Richter's classical
background has been utilised to its fullest, carving out
sparkling yet sparse arrangements that bring into play a host
of instruments including string quartet, flute arrangements,
cor anglais and vintage organs alongside the masterful
acoustic guitar playing of Marc Pilley and Richter's own piano
work. The more upbeat and straight-edged songs found littered
across 'Rocking Horse' create variation and unwittingly serve
to accentuate the darker offerings but at the same time, they
tend to remove the listener from the cosmic netherworld Ali
and Richter had worked so hard to transport them to. (KS)

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