Chrysanths 'Leave No Shadow' LP

On debut album Leave No Shadow, Chrysanths’ Emily Scott creates a deep technicolour-tinged world, and finds herself flowering in new territory from that of her band Modern Studies. At once elegiac and celebratory, it has a swirling orchestra of Scotland’s finest strings at its core and is sensitively woven together by the thread of Scott’s effortless voice. 


Recorded in Scotland with Emily Scott firmly in the producer’s chair, Leave No Shadow finds the artist flowering in new territory from that associated with her band, Glasgow-based Modern Studies. The most distinctive sonic elements here are the swirling, enveloping string arrangements written by Scott. With Susan Bear’s thoughtful bass guitar and Owen Curtis Williams’s delicate drums, the album takes on a luxurious timbre reminiscent of Jean Claude Vannier’s late 60s studio work or the evocative world-building of Fontana-era Scott Walker.

Chrysanths, or Chrysanthemums, are traditionally considered flowers of death and mourning in the west. While there is an embedded sadness in Emily Scott’s work on Leave No Shadow, the complexity and deft touch employed by the musician also points to renewal. In tarot, Death teaches one to outgrow ways of life, points to personal growth and rebirth. Death also teaches us to celebrate the now, to focus on the present and to celebrate life. Leave No Shadow embodies these sentiments, reflecting on the small treasures we move amongst. Chrysanths' fluid storytelling unlocks wave upon wave of emotion and aural joy: Sometimes fierce, often gentle, always here and always now.