Reviews by kuvien

There's a lot more of their organ magic on this one without sounding like ELP. Also, the vocals are more intense and necessary to the overall structure of the compositions. They have some other quite interesting sonic effects going on throughout this album, too, but as I am neither a musician nor a producer, I cannot identify what they are. They are certainly engaging, however.

With more than a little Zeuhl influence, this band starts its discography off right with a high-energy opening. The drums and synths play well together, and everything's held together by the dynamic interplay of the guitars and horns. Vocals aren't really highlighted here, but when they are, they blend perfectly with the overall feel of the tracks. This is intelligent without having to be "challenging".

Fuck this guy for wasting my time.

Cool, nuanced, spacious jazz that resists the urge to lose its shit (it very easily could have done so, and I applaud these guys for their restraint). The first track is a pulsing beacon of music, demanding instant attention so that, when hints of droning electronics come in on the second and third track, the listener is ready and accepting. In some ways, there are some strong dark jazz moments here. That saxophone with its musical afterimages sounds like the way that scene in [Film288] (when the ladies are so scared and bewildered that everything is momentarily doubled and tripled) looks. The delightful disorientation subsides into safer territory as's electronics come to the forefront, the machine ready to take its place as an equal voice with the sax and drums.

When you have skill but no talent.

I loved this the moment the first track started. Everything about this is brilliant, from the unusual singing and upright bass playing to the background of the album: how the pair went out and got real traditional sounds from old people.

I like listening to Italian music with my wife. She grew up in Rome, so I can always get the inside scoop on the lyrics, which is what is interesting here since when the album started, I thought what airy, fun tunes it was, when in fact the lyrics were about murder, suicide, and other dark topics. I mean, the album title is "A Ticket for Hell." All right. I like that kind of juxtaposition. The music is pretty tame, but there are moments of real fire, and they usually involve the flute playing off a hard guitar.

Just like in the movies: frat boys, beers, and cars!

After the dissolution of Cerberus Shoal, a folk collective I love, two of the members get married and have a baby (not sure what order that happened in), write and record an album at home, burn it to CD-Rs (the album, not the home), and dedicate their duo debut to their infant daughter (who incidentally will later join the family band at the age of 11). This music basks on the sunny side of weird. I might write to them and see if they'll burn me a CD of this.

Mellow to the point of being soporific, and that's not a bad thing. It never puts me to sleep but rather into a dreamlike state. This is vocal jazz lullabies.

Your perceived dichotomy does not exist. When you pray for peace and kill for your religion, these two actions are not at odds, for the elimination of your enemies brings about peace. So nuke those fools who don't look like you! Get them before they get you, and you shall have peace. I approve of how well these lads express themselves so monosyllabically.

This is vile. She should've never been given a microphone.

Easy listening schlock

Sounds older than 2002 (that's a compliment). Maybe it's the avant-prog elements here and there, reminding me of the quirkiness of fearless RIO experimentation. Also I cannot put my finger on why this sounds to me like a live album. Perhaps it's the electric interplay among the musicians?

Compositions by Richard Strauss, Hermann Hesse, and Joseph von Eichendorff. For being a song about death, “Tod und Verklärung” sure is an over-the-top mega-parade song, clocking in at 27 minutes and battering down the gates of Heaven with its ostentation. That’s fine, I guess. Perhaps it’s a metaphor for the internal struggle of passing over the boundary of existence. The real beauty of this album is the “Four Last Songs”, beautiful, melancholic musings by a solo female vocalist as she takes an archetypal journey from spring down into twilight, from the blush of youth to the gentle transition from life to death, with clear musical cues pointing to something beyond.

Imagine being the woman a world-class composer writes a string sextet for. As for the second part, this is a symphonic poem based on the play, Pelléas and Mélisande.

A beautiful collaboration of delicate, meditative folk tunes featuring solo unaccompanied female vocals and lively fiddles.

Shockingly this is almost all tin whistle! Very little accompaniment, but where there is, it's mild drums or light acoustic strumming. Most of the tracks are kick-up-your-heels break-of-day vernal-equinox jigs and reels. I can take only so much jigging, though, so the tin whistle sounds best when its slow, plaintive notes transport me beyond the fairground.

Breton Celtic Primitivism.

Would this condescending "hardcore" asshole shit himself if someone held him by the head as another person crammed the microphone into the back of his throat? And no matter how much his tear-filled eyes plead for mercy, he was shown none?