“Love To Give is exquisite ambiance, requiring undivided attention – not because it’s especially complex, though it’s certainly not a facetious hunk of glossy façades, but because it’s a sacred pilgrimage, necessitating respect. Give it that, and your soul will be greatly rewarded”
The Line Of Best Fit
Halls is the solo project of South London musician Sam Howard. Described as having ‘ambient soundscapes buttressed by skitter-step beats’, his debut self titled EP was released in January 2011 with his first album ‘Ark’ following at the end of 2012.This brooding debut album – draws from a palette of crystalline melodies, intense production and panoramic instrumentation to create a deeply personal, constructivist work of art. Evocative in sound and yet isolationist in sentiment, the album is an intense, dramatic and emotive study of loss and modern anxiety set to a strained electronic soundtrack. With his second album, ‘Love To Give’, released earlier this year, Howard has replaced apprehension and doubt with a muted hope and, just as the sentiment has shifted, the compositions and arrangements have moved into the real world and the instrumental palate has widened: brass, tuned percussion, woodwinds, and organs now flesh out the tracks, with digital percussion only used for texture rather than structure. For live appearances, Halls performs as a live band with a changing line-up.
