European heartbreak

"Utrecht-born De Graaf has a strong emotional investment in her subject. A former aide at United Nations war crimes tribunals, she has assessed the claims of refugees seeking asylum in Holland and is widely travelled. Songs recorded in Los Angeles and Richmond place her in Berlin, Spain and France. Her music - first aired on her 2016 debut Fading Lines - has an accordingly continental sophistication, the wistful delivery, strummed guitars, strings and warmly parping horns conjuring up Parisian bars and winding summer lanes ... European Heartbreak has a lovely, human optimism, and leaves a warm glow and a feeling that all things - however uncomfortable - eventually pass".

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"The first Amber Arcades record, Fading Lines, was an unassumingly good modern dream pop record that balanced De Graaf's plain-spoken vocals and melancholy nature against a gentle backdrop of drowsy guitars and dreamy melodies. European Heartbreak takes a different tack entirely. De Graaf wanted to make something that was both sparse and lush; simple, classic ballads and midtempo songs filled out with strings and horns. She laid down the basic tracks with producer Chris Cohen of Deerhoof, they headed to Spacebomb studio in Virginia to add the rest in their typically cosmic American music fashion. The result is something of a mixed bag".

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