My introduction to Saint Sister was through Shape of Silence and let me tell you, I was
not disappointed. Coming from a sad girl™ music connoisseur, Shape of Silence hit the spot.
The entire album felt like what crying your eyes out in the middle of a beautiful field probably
feels like.

The band was formed in 2014 by Irish duo Morgan MacIntyre and Gemma Doherty.
According to their website, they draw their inspiration for their music from early Celtic harp
traditions, folk and electronic pop to create ‘atmosfolk’—a mix of soulful vocal harmonies,
dreamy synth and electro-acoustic harp.” Their debut album starts with “The Beginning,” a song
just under 2 minutes that tells a personal story of aching to be noticed by a possible significant
other. It sets the mood for the rest of the album.

Their subtle use of the harp and mellow percussion makes their voices the true stand out
of this album. It’s the type of album you have to listen to a few times to truly understand it. When
I listened to Shape of Silence for the first time, I thought it was one of those albums that mainly
focused on creating a certain mood rather than tell a story, and I was satisfied with that. But
after listening to it multiple times, I found that it was much more than that. The album told a
personal and intimate story from start to finish. It doesn’t shy away from talking about how
confusing and daunting being young can be.

My favorite track, “Causing Trouble,” starts off with a harp playing beautifully
accompanied with a soft beat. It talks about someone moving on from an old flame to a new
love. It’s sang from the old flame’s perspective, talking about how close she still feels to that
person even though they have moved on and there’s a gap between them now. Although the
harp caught my attention, it was MacIntyre and Doherty’s harmonies that made me love this
song. They are honestly just amazing and if you want to be taken to a different world or just
have some background noise while studying, this album is perfect for all of that.

Recommended: 2, 3, 7, 5

RIYL: Daughter, Angus and Julia Stone, Chromatics