ALBUM REVIEW: Daniel O’Sullivan & Richard Youngs – Twelve Of Hearts

O Genesis

Released: 01.12.20

Perhaps the most surprising thing about this collaboration between two of the UK’s most prolific collaborators is that it didn’t happen sooner. O’Sullivan and Youngs had a strict rule when working together remotely: every song must follow an unvarying four chord sequence, ‘the glittering formula’. If that sounds a little Eno-esque, so does much of Twelve Of Hearts, in all the best ways.

Part of this is down to the pair’s vocals (at times it feels like a companion piece to the Eno/Cale album) but also in the way the songs flirt with doowop (Long Joyful Dream), Fripp-esque guitar (First Throw Of The Ocean, the title track) or a dreamy, ersatz country (Fear Catches The Sky). A rare example of structured experimentation producing pure delight.