DOT ALLISON
Conciousology (Sonic Cathedral)
The Andrew Weatherall-produced Scottish band One Dove didn’t stick around for quite long enough to garner the accolades they deserved: their one and only album, 1993’s Morning Dove White, was up there with Screamadelica in the ambient dance-rock crossover stakes. All was not lost, though, as One Dove vocalist Dot Allison has gone on to a fruitful solo career – Consciousology is her seventh solo album; her first two, Afterglow and We Are Science, are ripe for re-evaluation or reissue – and collaborated with both Death In Vegas and Massive Attack.
Consciousology finds Allison explores love and relationships interconnecting with nature. She is joined in this by Andy Bell of Ride, the London Contemporary Orchestra and composer Hannah Peel, who takes care of some of the string arrangements. The album’s rich, widescreen psychedelic folk/electronica aesthetic is in a class of its own, which with Allison’s voice added to the equation makes Consciousology something really quite special – and Unchanged might just be the most beautiful song this artist has made to date.
words DAVID NOBAKHT