Cold Specks – Blank Maps // Song Of The Day #425 [Best Fit Premiere]

The last couple of years have seen the return of the Big Voice. In the charts and beyond there has been a clamour for a vague form of authenticity, generally signified by a raspy, straight-from-the-chest delivery that is capable of both wispy etherealism and bold, soul-stirring testimonials.

In most cases, of course, neither the voice nor the authentic essence are actually there; instead we get the shouty faux-Hippolyta nonsense of Florence And The Machine. But of the current clutch of artists with claims to authenticity, Cold Specks is amongst the most impressive. On forthcoming single ‘Blank Maps’ there is an effortlessness that was absent in her early recordings, the Canadian singer having settled into her Deep South-tinged groove with a welcome lack of pretension. Her music is therapeutic in the truest sense – not because it soothes, but because it sounds like an exorcism, at once painful and beautiful.

We are happy to premiere ‘Blank Maps’ here. The single is out on Mute on 14 May, with Cold Specks’ debut album, I Predict A Graceful Expulsion, released the following week.