The Heavy Steps Of Dreaming: Coloured Vinyl LP Minor Pieces

“‘The Heavy Steps Of Dreaming’ is the debut album from Vancouverbased
Minor Pieces, a new songwriting partnership comprising
acclaimed singer / composer Ian William Craig and newcomer Missy
Donaldson, a singer and multi-instrumentalist.

 Retaining some of the textural play and experimentation of Ian’s solo
material whilst channelling it squarely within the domain of tangible
songwriting, the pair utilise guitar, modified tape decks, bass and
synths to fashion deeply-felt songs with their beautifully matched
male / female vocals standing resolutely centre-stage.

 Taking influence and inspiration from the likes of Low, Grouper,
Mazzy Star, Portishead, My Bloody Valentine, Talk Talk and Cat
Power, ‘The Heavy Steps Of Dreaming’ sounds at once familiar whilst
forging something new, unique and beyond the sum of its influences.

 Over the course of its 8 tracks – from the opening bars of ‘Rothko’ to
the resonant closing lines of ‘Shipbreaking’ – the duo move fluidly
between voices, shift from moments of overwhelming power to
perfect points of stillness; from acoustic balladry pared down to the
sparsest of means to thick, tumbling swells of tape and electronics or
billowing synth trails. At both album and song level, it’s a work of
contrasts and combinations; of broad, bold dynamics.

 Masterfully crafted, the lyrics are rendered with an almost painterly
approach and reveal a palpable joy in the richness of language and
its capacity to conjure resonances, to hold moments close and to
patch together meaning from life’s scattered detritus.

 What’s forged is a kind of Alt. Americana filtered through a
progressive modern lens and the tactile, heavily processed tactics of
Ian’s solo practice – an approach that links to the corrosive aesthetics
of electronic artists like Fennesz, William Basinski or The Caretaker.

 “Puts ambient music, dream pop, and operatic vocals in a blender,
and comes out with something that’s very unique” – Brooklyn Vegan

 “An atmosphere that flits between the overtly beautiful and the
frankly eerie” – Clash Magazine”