LISTEN: Basciville’s “Love In The Time Of The State” Is Vulnerable Folk-rock With Moving Poetry

Equal parts band and production duo, Basciville have spent the past few years as quiet powerhouses in the Irish music scene, collaborating, writing, and producing with artists including The Ocelots and Ailbhe Reddy. Their own output to date includes the EPs Blue in Red and For All Lost Youth, as well as their acclaimed full-length debut, Hymns to the Air. 

Known for blending folk, art rock, orchestral swells, and lyrical introspection, their sound moves between sparse minimalism and expansive arrangements, always led by a desire to soundtrack both the personal and political unrest of modern life. Their anticipated new album, Love in the Time of the State, arrived on March 13 and is available everywhere now. 

Now that we are a few weeks removed from Basciville’s latest LP, the title track seems to stand tall and proud amongst this impressive track list. “Love In The Time Of The State” is a slow-burning, emotionally palpable performance, with sentimental vocals that cascade around an arrangement that builds with the care one would use with a child. There is a vulnerability to this song that reaches deeper than the raw honesty of its lyrics. The downtrodden arrangement, despite its melancholy piano opening and gradual evolution into a cathartic indie rock tune, remains a dark cloud looming over our already dejected hero as they poetically navigate this defeated state of mind. “I’m not sad, but I’m not well” recurs throughout “Love In The Time Of The State,” serving as an anchor for this heartbreaking sonic journey. The title track to Basciville’s latest is only a preview of the magic on Love in the Time of the State, a terrific album from a refreshing act.