Embracing The Insular

It is hard to fathom the level of anticipation that seems to have coalesced around If You Leave, the debut record for Daughter, a trio that have taken the spectral skeleton of traditional pop and folk compositions and weaved a darker, atmospheric world for themselves with astonishing results. The gossamer guitar lines by Igor Haefeli and pivotal drumming of Remi Aguilella provide this esoteric sonic backdrop, yet everything hinges on the ethereal, haunted vocals of Elena Tonra. Embodying both fragility and power, Tonra is a beguiling presence that is both hypnotic and alluring.

If You Leave has been heralded in the press as a long time coming, what with the brewing adulation garnered from their previous EPs, and the pressure of releasing a long-player has been something that Tonra has been attuned to yet assuages that there were no problems leading up to it.

“It really came down to ensuring we had a whole lot of new songs for it; and while it looks like we had a year to make it we had a lot of touring in between,” Tonra explains. “It was this juggling act between writing and recording and being away. We wanted to take our time and not rush out and knock up something that was like the EP songs smooshed together. The weird thing is, when you look at all the things that have been in front of us over the year, we actually worked quite speedily to get everything to come together as they have, especially for us.”

Tonra's lyrics are incredibly sparse and honest, with no holds barred when expressing her perceived insecurities, both from within and out. “When we wrote the album I didn't really think about [the lyrics] because we were very much in a solitary area, we kept to ourselves. We were making this album for ourselves in a way, so we weren't thinking about what other people would think. It's only now that I'm thinking, 'Oh shit, why am I telling everyone these things?' But in my opinion you need to be honest; it's the way I have always written, it's a way to get rid of all the bad feelings or dark emotions that can build up inside. It's always been a way to deal with things.

“And for us we never really went out much, we didn't see people, the whole process consumed us. It was heavy – an enjoyable experience, but something of a challenge. So when the reviews come out and start picking everything apart it's quite strange. Who knows what my future songwriting will be like, seeing that I might be self-conscious about it all now; maybe it's destroyed me!”

While there have been moments where Daughter's musical oeuvre, as embryonic as it is, has been labelled as folk, there are few glaring touchstones on If You Leave that lend themselves to such pigeonholing. Although Tonra herself doesn't align herself to a folk aesthetic, she believes there are elements, such as the honesty of the lyrics, that connect with people in a similar way, providing universal truths that ultimately become the hook that draws people in.

“It's definitely got that songwriting quite present within it. Maybe it's the way the lyrics presents themselves to people that makes think we're folky, but I don't really have an answer. We are definitely a lot more electric, a lot darker in that sound.”