Or Nest, which mashes together Phil Sproductionle production with the sparse R&B vocals of Frank Ocean.
Yet while the music is sparse — just vocals, mostly Ms. Case a cappella — it's also nearly free-form, with ghost-choir harmonies arriving at unexpected moments.
In the past couple of years I've wanted to make a sparse and vocal-heavy record.
Initially I played around with just having sparse, chopped-vocals and synths but realized that the beat called for something more grandiose.
Marching into the Dark opts for a sparse scattering of vocal samples, clicks and guitar, the ebullience of the chorus's melody at odds with the song's lyrical bleakness ("What good is a dream when the dreamer dies?") and the coda of queasy strings that brings the album to its conclusion.
Andy Kellman of Allmusic picked "1+1" as one of the album's top songs, describing it as "a sparse and placid vocal showcase, [which] fades in with a somber guitar line, throws up occasional and brief spikes in energy, and slowly recedes".
"Blue Boy" finds Sexsmith moving beyond his sparse guitar-and-vocal arrangements, thanks largely to Earle's production, which introduces elements of Beatle-esque pop and even mournful jazz trumpet.
"White Horse" is, musically, a country pop song and uses sparse production to emphasize vocals.
Born in Gambia, the daughter of the late musician Mawdo Sey, she first came to the general public's attention last year with Younger, a yearning oddity that marries her raw, soul-flecked vocal with sparse organ for the first two minutes before careening off into a galloping, string-drenched final third.
Sparse drum beats and vocal chants are woven throughout the songs composition, which according to Christina Drill of Popdust, is reminiscent of Gwen Stefani's debut solo album, Love.
