Music yet to come. It’s something that pops up every now and then on the fringes where pop meets experimental rock. There are moments that have made history and are remembered even for the impact they had within a context that was, in itself, already quite rich. Think of This Heat, tucked away in the post-punk scene, and how what they did was so much more than that; or Broadcast, who in the 1990s were part of Warp’s promise for the future but, in the end, looked too much to a past rooted in a British tradition of electronic music that only began to be genuinely understood, on a global scale, almost twenty years later. Curbside Lear aren’t here to be quite so revolutionary, but they draw from the same well. Music yet to come. With melodies that linger. A present that shapes the future.
A duo comprising Magdalena McLean (caroline) and Annabelle Mödlinger (DJ and presenter of Roadkill Ikebana on NTS), Curbside Lear is a stunning guide to music that is happening and yet to happen. Their approach is rooted in folk, seeking to build a melodic sensibility that is then complemented by loops, creating simple textures and filling the spaces of a track constructed from fragments. The vocals intertwine with various memories, and at times Trish Keenan springs to mind – more for the fit than for the tone.
They are also very much in step with their contemporaries, the Tara Clerkin Trio. The track that introduced them to the world, Man The Door, is very much in keeping with the Bristol/London trio and their search for a new sense of music that crosses boundaries and finds a name other than trip hop. This is what it sounds like: something that is paving the way for a future we’ll look back on in a few years’ time. Music yet to come, happening right now.
AS

Between words and chords, between day and night, between home and the middle of the street, Anaís once again takes to the stage to perform songs inspired by moments – whether fleeting observations or conversations amongst friends. She brings with her new songs and new friends.