Certainly, the enticing piano balladry still exists, with wraith-like vocals floating above the Cocteaus-like title track and the driving It’s Happening Again.
Yet a dash of sonic adventuring, particularly her use of the trautonium (an obscure 1920s synthesizer) on opener Stretch Your Eyes, and on the "self-duet" Familiar, where pitch-shifting technology is deployed to sparkling effect, is illustrative of her expansive and beguiling approach to her craft.
• Agnes Obel. Citizen of Glass. Play It Again Sam.
• Four stars (out of five)
Single download: Familiar
For those who like: Cocteau Twins, quiet Bjork, Scott Walker
— John Hayden
