This weeks late Live Vault comes from Icelanic group Amiina who released their debut album “Kurr” last year to much acclaim. This is “Glamur” taken from an intimate performance from their tour last year. Enjoy and relax.
Archive for June, 2008
Live Vault – Amiina
Imogen Heap – Album Update
Imogen discusses more of her album and lets us listen to samples of upcoming songs including songs called Little Bird and Swoon. Imogen’s iBlogs are always fun and informative and its great to have someone show an insight into how they make an album. Watch it here
Hitoshi Sakimoto – Final Fantasy Tactics A2 Soundtrack Review
Final Fantasy Tactics A2: The Sealed Grimoire is something of a reprisal for Hitoshi Sakimoto. Both the original and the Advanced FFT soundtracks are held very much in high regard and with his side kick Masaharu Iwata helping out with arrangements again many expected another fine body of work this time around.
Once again at two discs this soundtrack has a high quality synth work (not a disc of harsh DS music and then a disc of high quality synth work after) and is very much Sakimoto stylised. “Main theme” opens disc one with the familiar notes that we remember from the previous incarnation. “Putting Words Together” however shows a more playful softer side with typical softened ambience to the piano giving it warmth and a delay in the reverb.
Then we’re off! “Green Wind” is majestic from the brass overtones to the string synths bouncing to the beat sounding like a joyous national anthem. “Unfold the Map” is a playful song borrowing a bagpipe sound that reminds me slightly of the Crystal Chronicles soundtrack. We’re then treated to some reprisals of previous songs from FFTA’s soundtrack. Each track has been reprogrammed though and this isn’t as lazy as the simple copies that Kingdom Hearts II done. “Companions that Surpassed Their Tribe” is much more richer, “At the Bar” is more playful and percussive, “Gained Fruit” more regal and “Gathering Armies” is given more depth and therefore is more dramatic and rallying to listen to.
Inbetween these some new tracks are about. “Knowledge of the Adventurer” is a fast brass heavy piece while “Luso” is perfectly playful sounding every bit the character theme that you need to have get stuck in your head for an hour at a time! “Signpost” is also more playful than we’re used to for a tactics game. It also has more of a melody to it too which stuck out well. “Cid” rounds out the more playful section with an almost eastern sounding march song – quite unusual and again most welcome for diversity.
A flurry of previous soundtrack songs return with the always fantastic “Mysterious Shop” bouncing along at a good pace, “Unhideable Anxiety” is also as good as ever, “A Grand Spell” making good use of “Ritz” from FFTA and finally “Beyond the Wateland” sounding as catchy and militarian as ever too. In general all the revisited songs are better here than before. Even nicer is remakes of Final Fantasy XII songs! “Into the Fantasy” is a lovely flowing arrangment of “The Salikawood” (and possibly better than original) and “Beating Heart” is a rendition of “The Mosphoron Highwaste” although both are as good as eachother here – full of tension and drama.
Of the other original songs on Disc 1, standouts are “Adel” for its happy-go-lucky attitude, “Mad Dash” for its high tension and drama, “Comparion of Wisdom” for its excellent use of the hapsichord and “Eternal Time” for its beautiful yet creepy atmosphere (a personal highlight of the soundtrack for me).
Disc 2 is longer but no less interesting. Again, due to the game taking place in the same world, FFXII songs and FFTA songs are rearranged for our pleasure.”Peaceful Days” is infact the fantastic “Magic Beast Farm” from FFTA which suits the more playful mood the soundtrack has now gotten you accustomed too. “Bookmark” (FFTA) uses the xylophone excellently, where as “Crossing Over the Hill” sounds exactly like “Omozore Plains” from FFXII. “To The Peak” (FFXII) is full of all the drama and tension of a boss battle (another highlight) and “Penelo’s Theme” makes a comeback as “The Sky Pirates From the East” with lots of percussive slaps. “Airport” (FFXII’s “Naivety”) is just as much as it disorientating which means its just as well its put next to “Abyss” (FFXII’s To the Place of Gods”) which gives us a moment or two to catch breath with a beautiful melody. Lastly “Finale” is also stolen from FFXII but since its all out orchestral madness I don’t mind so much!
The new tracks can compete up there with the old ones however. “Summer Vacation” is fluffy and lightweight, where as “A Hurried Guess” is more of a clumsy track than a silly one. It still has a lot of majesticness about it but it has a clumsy riff that makes it laugh at itself.
“Grief” is one of the very few slow tracks on the soundtrack and therefore stands out more. It is emotive with its piano and harp samples bleeding across the speakers with very high pitched strings making you feel the emotion more. An excellent track and much needed pace change. “Requiem” is the other slow tracks but that is more of an ambience than a melody and is less effective.
“Looming Crisis” is all about the big orchestral stabs which make it punch above its weight where as “Front and Back” has much more of a melody and chord structure to it and is forever changing and thus keeps you more interested. “Conclusion” is suitably dark and brass infused with military drums bashing away throughout which naturally brings you to “The Unfolding Darkness” which constantly builds and builds and then builds a bit more, layering instruments on top of eachother to a huge climax… that never comes. I did get annoyed that this track fades away and doesn’t just stop with a crash!
“The End of the Tale” starts the warm ending to the soundtrack with a beautiful piece, which followed by the celtic sounding “A Hymn for the Journey” compliments both. Infact I had the latter song in my head for a while after I first heard it – something that many tracks on the soundtrack failed to do. “A Sound that Connects the World” is a music box version of the previous song while “Each Story” is the more Sakimoto synth version of the song (I prefer the first version best of the three). Finally the soudntrack closes on “Words Put Together” which is like a synth orchestrated version of the same song. This song is fitting for the finale and is an excellent piece with peaks and troughs.
So has Sakimoto done it again? Essentially yes. Sakimoto’s synth style is very blended and reverbed so that it all blurred together. While its warm and soft to the ear it does mean that some of the more subtle melodies are not heard. In terms of actually melodies, there’s not much here for you to go off humming to. If you are after regal, anthemic orchestral styled music then this is definately for you. Sakimoto may now win new fans with this soundtrack but he won’t lose any either. I’m not the biggest of fans of his music although I do enjoy it. I can listen to a few tracks in a row and then they all start to meld into one long string/brass fest – however on this soundtrack there’s enough to break up the battle tracks to keep your attention and keep you focused at the great music at hand.
Emiliana Torrini – New Album September
Icelandic wonder Emiliana Torrini will be releasing her latest studio album entitled “Me and Armini” this year, rumoured for the 8th of September. Emiliana’s styles are very different and apparently this album will be a mixture of the acoustic “Fisherman’s Woman” and the more electronic “Love in the Time of Science”. Excellent news!
Now how about reissuing “Merman” and her previous Iceland only albums please? Pretty please?
Aki Kuroda – Final Fantasy X Piano Collections Review
Final Fantasy’s Piano Collections are becoming a staple of the release schedule with only numbers 1-3 missing out (although we’re still awaiting on FXII). Final Fantasy X Piano Collections gives us 15 piano tracks to get our teeth into.
“In Zanarkand” opens in true tragic style, improving on the tear-jerking original despite keeping very faithful to it. There’s excellent use of pauses to emphasis the song and the sorrow. It’s a true masterpiece and a great way to start an album. “Tidus’ Theme” follows with a nice version of the song, that is played very complexly and acutely making it less of a plod and more of a precise journey.
“Besaid Island” is a flowing, complex and bouncy tune that will hook you from the instant it starts. It’s a complete make over from the original and it’s a surprise to hear it on here. Its more beautiful and more fun loving and you can really hear the tune.
“The Hymn Of Faith” is an epic song, which succeeds but also fails. The whole song is a build up to nothing, and while the song only has a few chords, you’ll either be hooked by it to listen to the good build up, or you’ll be put off by the repetition and the fair lack of progress in the song as its very rough. “Travel Agency” is nice enough song, but everyone will be sad to hear the hand claps that I think made the original are gone. Therefore, for me, while the tune was nice, nothing has really changed for it to be on the Piano Collections.
“Rikku’s Theme” however is a great inclusion as it really gets the tune bouncing out in the most cute and picturesque manner possible. While being a fairly simple conversion, it works a treat. “Guadosalam” is a great song to include as the original has its melody muted and distorted. The song itself is very dark and mysterious and at times awkward but it does feel like a fresh new track has been included.
“Thunder Plains” is a higher key and much faster version of the song. The way it flows and is played much more complexly shows off the song, as they all do throughout the album. Complexity is really the key to “FFX Piano Collections”. “Raid” is a fast paced song again, with some great playing and some dramatic loud parts and culminate to a fantastic song. “The Way Of Purgation” is a hypnotising song that rolls off the speakers with ease. This version is faster and much more complex again. The song is perfect once again.
“Suteki Da Ne?” is the piano version of the vocal song, which is played down at the beginning to a sombre piece, but once it gets to the chorus the song breaks out into the bitter-sweet song it should be. Sadly, despite Aki Kuroda’s best efforts, the song doesn’t seem to come across as well as say Melodies Of Life, which is shame, but the alternative approach is still good to have. “Yuna’s Decision” is played in a downbeat manner from the start, in a sort of jazzy smokey bar way. The song doesn’t transpose well onto piano until you get to the refrains as its too sparse. This is a filler track, but I think “Yuna’s Theme” would have worked so much better.
“People Of The Far North” however is a magnificent tune, and gets a star rendition. From the quietest of plinks to the dramatic shudders from the piano; each note is played with emotion and precision. Great stuff. “Final Battle” is a powerful version of the orchestrated song with the ever present complex playing holding everything easily while the piano trashes out every note as angrily as it can.
“Ending Theme” is a beautiful tune that soaks up all the emotion from those final few scenes of the game that stopped everyone’s hearts. It’s the most appropriate way to end the album, especially as it acts almost as a medley.
Final Fantasy X Piano Collections is a worthy purchase. The playing is extremely complex and the sound is very full on. One or two of the songs may not catch your heart in the slightest (or as in my case now having owned it for a few years, they may slowly grow on you), or maybe a couple will not be the rendition you’ll have wanted, but there is real raw emotion throughout that’s the difference between good and great.
Soft Cell – The Most Disturbingly Funny Fan Vid I’ve Seen For A While…
Never one to shy away from the grittier side of life Soft Cell’s lyrics thrive on the evils of the world – this is why THIS fan video is both unsettling and pant wettingly funny! Never will I look at Tinky Winky the same way again…
Ayumi Hamasaki – New Coundown DVD Released
Ayumi’s latest countdown concert DVD was released yesterday. Once again I’ve ordered it and once again I’m sure I’ll be bopping away like its new years eve all over again. Ayu’s concerts are always a real show and I’m sure this will be nothing less. Here’s the tracklist:
| 1. | starting over |
| 2. | talkin’ 2 myself |
| 3. | STEP you |
| 4. | Ladies Night |
| 5. | fated |
| 6. | Together When . . . |
| 7. | decision |
| 8. | SURREAL |
| 9. | Bold & Delicious |
| 10. | RAINBOW |
| 11. | evolution |
| 12. | Boys & Girls |
| 13. | glitter |
| 14. | (encore) untitled -for her- |
| 15. | (encore) Sotsugyo Shashin |
| 16. | (encore) + |
| 17. | (encore) Humming 7/4 |
| 18. | (encore) MY ALL |
Stephane Picq & Pierre Esteve – “Atlantis: The Lost Tales OST”
Stephane Picq and in particular Pierre Esteve are highly underrated VGM composers. I put it down to the face they make music for the generally disliked Cryo point and click games. However while the games are budget, the music is absolutely top notch. Atlantis: The Lost Tales is just one of the examples.
Disc 1 opens with the magical and mystical chants of “Sunriders”, every bit an epic opener with timpani bashes and woodwinds floating around climactic vocals. That paves way for “Awakening” a slow moving ominous piece with a near oboe sounding solo before a collection of eastern percussion gradually filters into this meditative song. “Rhea” is pure mysticism, with dark sultry female mellow chants faintly in the distant with various tuned percussion and harps playing out a delicate melody that intrigues and invites you in more as the song continues. It’s here you really notice that the sound quality of the instruments is pretty much realistic.
“Ancient Winds” is another ambience section in a meditative state before “Am Ma Eya” explodes into your ears with one of the most rousing two and a half minutes of tribal madness and dulcimer usage I’ve heard for a long while! Definately a favourite. Think Enya on the darkside!
“Pretress” brings us back down to echoey vocals and some beautiful keyboard works all in the name of ambience again, its very much like a lost Ico track that’s been destressed. “Crystal Winds” is another mysterious piece played almost entirely on what sounds like a glockenspiel with chimes helping out. “Para Nua” is quite a random song, like a tradional celebration dance for a tribe or a secluded village. It is extremely primal and that’s what I like about this soundtrack, it takes you back to musics roots.
“Back to Atlantis” gives us a beautiful piece which is either played on a zither or a lute, I can’t quite tell but either way its a beautiful serenade before “Spitzberg” gives us another very subdued ambience piece that kind of confuses me in places as the drums are particular jarring when they begin and the track doesnt really grab me so much.
“Stonehenge” is another mystical tribal piece with some stirring vocals almost like traditional Bulgarian vocalists and excellent tuned percussion.
“Dream of the Owl” is another aborniginal piece with dark woodwind that is good to listen to if you’re difting off to sleep as it adds more and more to the mix over time. “Dream of the Dolphin” is even more ambience, I guess you have to like ambient musings to get on with this soundtrack, but again is very well done. Disc 1 then finsihes with “La Lune” an ever growing and expanding guitar based piece. While some may find this piece, and several others too long, I find you need these lengths of time to really get your mind into the framework. A bonus track is found after a few minutes silence here too which is excellent.
The much shorter Disc 2 then brings us more of the same. “Dark Spirits” is very much an extension of the superb “Am Ma Eya” only in some respects very much a step up in urgency and distress. “La Tisseuse De Destins” continues the distressed brass juxtapositioned with etheral vocals until it settles to another excellent eerie mysterious piece of xylophone galore. “Dream of the Rat” is a bit bizarre and random in places but keeps you on edge as the tension builds throughout with zithers and timpanis having their turn to shine. “Coq Rouge” then gives us what sounds like the closest to a hide and seek track on the soundtrack and is probably the most straight forward musically yet it doesn’t lose anything by being that.
“Metamorphosis” returns to the eerie echos and detuned pussive madness that you’ll love if you like this soundtrack, before “Muria” gives us some devine vocals and gentle glockenspeils again. “Nightmare” gives us a digeridoo and animal noises to chew over before “Labyrinth” is complete ambience ala “Ico” if you’ve heard that. Everything is distorted to distant echoes and is intruiging to listen to. The closing track “Aube” is a woodwind piece that is gentle and passing into dark and leaves you just as intrigued and mystified as the first track did when you started listening!
If there’s a place you want to go and get lost in, this is the place to go to. If you find a barrier that every song must have some kind of massive hook and bassline then I suggest you stay well clear. However this album, if it clicks, will be one you play at nighttime for many a year to come.
Tsukiko Amano – “Cho” Review
While not directly involved with the game Fatal Frame 2 (Project Zero 2 in the UK), Tsukiko Amano made a song called “Butterfly” inspired from the game, which features the creatures in the game itself.
“Butterfly” is a rock number that combines heavily oriental influenced verses that contain creepy percussion and sweeping yet eerie strings with anthemic stadium rock choruses. Its as powerful as it is catchy and beautiful and the two different sides of the song compliment each other well to an electric experience that is highly enjoyable.
The only other song on the single is “Phenomenon” is more cheerful with a catchy verse and chorus using a more up-tempo beat and organs to compliment the guitars to give a jazz fused funfair feel. Definitely not a throwaway b-side at all. For anyone who has Tsukiko Amano’s b-side album – this is not the version on that as its been rerecorded so all the more reason to buy this single!
Not having heard anything from Tsukiko Amano before, I found this single a pleasant surprise and not only is it a great song inspired by a fantastic game, it has inspired me to buy her full length albums which I also recommend whole heartedly.
Live Vault – Joanna Newsom
This weeks Live Vault performance comes from the ever complex Joanna Newsom. “Sawdust and Diamonds” comes from the fantastic album Ys which clocks in at 50 minutes despite only having 5 tracks! Watch her work the harp like a woman possessed here
Tori Amos – Label Free and Releasing Old DVDs?
Tori Amos leaving Epic was a bit of a shock but was never really confirmed properly however what is more exciting is that Tori seems to be raking up all kinds of goodies. There’s already rumours of a 2009 album despite her writing a musical and now there’s tentative release dates for a live DVD with performances taken from 1991 and 1992 from Montreux, NL. Put in as a slated release on the 9th of September, it appears to contain two set lists from her performances there. Apparently this venue has a long running tradition of releasing DVD’s so if its true we’ll all be looking out for Tori’s new release. Excitingly it could contain “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, “Thank You” and “Whole Lotta Love”, three very sort after covers. Now where’s the Posse DVD’s?
Frou Frou – An A Ceppella Cover!
While on the Frou Frou front I found THIS excellent a ceppella cover of the magical “Let Go” performed by a group called The California Overtones. The seven members all contribute vocally to make an exceptional performance. Enjoy!
Frou Frou – Breathe In (single) Review
Imogen Heap and Guy Sigworth team up to make Frou Frou, the fantastic alt-pop duo (although now defunct it seems for now). Their first and only single “Breathe In” is a beautiful pop song that paved way for an excellent album “Details”.
“Breathe In” showcases funky keyboard/guitar synths and Sigworth’s trademark whooping drum beats and stereo echoing keyboard loops that echo around your ears. Add on Imogen’s sublime vocal talent and quirky lyrics and you have a summer pop hit in the making. More of interest to collectors though is the sole Frou Frou b-side “Close Up” which is much darker and edgier than the A-side and I actually prefer it. It’s got a bass grizzle to it that really drives it forward.
This single makes for an excellent introduction to Frou Frou and Imogen Heap’s more recent work so if you like what you hear jump straight in.
Masaya Matsuura – “Vib Ripple & Vib Ribbon Soundtrack” Review
Masaya Matsuura is one of the most unique composers in video game music of all time. In fact should his visions have ever been told to a psychiatrist, he’d probably have been locked up a LONG time ago! However thankfully for us, that never happened. Together with “Laugh & Peace” a quite random and seemingly ear dead pair, they created a dual soundtrack “Vib-Ripple & Vib-Ribbon OST”.
The cult games allowed you to pop your own CD’s into your PlayStation (1 or 2)and then play with Vibri to survive your CD collection! However you were also given some songs on the game itself to play with and that’s what appears on this disc of delight.
Of the 32 tracks on this CD, around half are about 10 seconds long giving some random Vibri vocal snippets which are cute, endearing and maybe to butch males, the kind of thing you’ve been dreading for years. However aside from that, there are some extremely original computer generated music.
“Laugh & Peace” provide 6 tracks that sound like a rock band that has been compressed and pushed through a hyperactive anime computer speaker. Each song like “Oops” has catchy chorus’ and verses that are played through at different speeds. Some songs works better than others and only “Do You Know?” has a truly awful section where the song slows down on a vocal note that pierces the ears! Not nice! However the rest of their contribution is simply mental!
Masaya Matsuura however goes one better and tops it with “Vib-Ribbon – How to Play” – a mind bending silly track of blips and bleeps that still makes me laugh years after first hearing it.
Having done all of the Vib-Ripple section himself, Masaya resorts to a circus like cabaret style of just completely throw you off course from anything you’ve really heard at a long length before! I think the closest I’ve heard to the style and feel here is possibly the Hanjuku Hero series.
Sadly all this insanity only clocks in at 39 minutes and 16 seconds, but then the upside means you can’t get too bored or go too insane listening to it. It’s completely unqiue and you’ll either love it or hate it but everyone should at least appreciate sure genius from the music mental house! Bring it on Vibri!
Live Vault – Alanis Morrissette
This weeks Live Vault comes from Alanis Morissette with songs from her recent AOL Live Sessions. Taken from her new album reviewed last week, we have “Citizens of the Planet“, “Not As We” “Underneath” and “Torch“. AOL Sessions tend to be fantastic for showcasing live talent and Alanis is no exception with a beautiful performance especially with Not As We and Torch.
Yasunori Mitsuda – “Sailing to the World” Review
“Sailing to the World” is the title for the official release of Yasunori Mitsuda’s compositions for the game called “The Seventh Seal”. 10 tracks were chosen and re-recorded for the CD which has been quite overlooked compared to his other works, which is a great shame as its a very cohesive, well balanced and catchy effort.
“The Door” opens the soundtrack with a very mystical atmosphere lead by a distant choir sounding synth which then leads to a beautifully haunting demonic organ section – very Mitsuda but still very classy. “Sailing To The World” is what I’d assume to be the opening theme of the game, a Celtic affair with a very catchy bridge! The vocals are lightly out of tune at times but with such a strong melody and a big finish, you soon forget about the imperfections and concentrate on the song at hand.
“Melody of Aqua” is very typical of a town theme actually. Its tuned percussive elements and main melody work perfectly together and the sound quality because it’s been recorded again for the release is like that of an arranged album almost. One that grows on you more each listen. “Rhythm of Red” is an astounding piece of guitar work, flamenco percussion and some soaring spirit lifting string arrangments. If you need a reason to buy the soundtrack, its this song I think because it is just so very well accomplished in all areas. Superb!
“Path to Enlightenment” is what I refer to as the sneeky theme on the soundtrack. It has the very stereotypical waiting and hiding feel to it with some Asian tangents and twists. Nothing special but once again well concieved. “Confrontation” is one of the only battle theme on the album and it stands out just because of that fact. It has all the nobality, stature, power and anxiety that a high tension track needs and the sound quality is superb once again. Normally I’m not one to go mad over battle tracks but I really do adore this one.
“Melody-Go-Round” takes the earlier vocal theme and turns it into a beautiful wind and string arrangement and is my second favourite track on the album just for its sublime calming attributes and I feel the melody is more at home here than the vocal piece – don’t ask me why but it just feels right.
My favourite tune on this album by a long shot is “Point of No return” purely for one thing – pace signitures. Coming across like a gothic space oddysey at the beginning the song erupts into electronic tension without going majorly fast with some tension building string sections and moaning male vocalist adding to it. It carefully sways around in its prelude to the chorus and then suddenly stops and builds up into a drum, guitar, string and wind instrument elated chorus that could sweep you off your feet. Although the pace and timing does not change at all during the song it just feels like it has suddenly taken you to a new level of drama and tension. I place this down as one of Mitsuda’s best creations.
“Hope” is a lovely piano led piece that is an excerise in beauty and its highly recommended. “Reincarnation” brings back our female vocalist from the second track for a similar style track of the title track only slower, but to the theme of “Hope” which works well. It does remind me very much of the vocal themes of “Xenogears” actually which can be no bad thing.
“Sailing to the World” has never really hogged the limelight as much as it should have been as has been largely overlooked. I hope this review can enlighten some people into plumbing for this soundtrack as it deserves a home in many more VGM Collectors than it does already.
Alanis Morissette – Flavors of Entanglement Review
Over a decade has passed since Alanis Morissette burst into the music world with her massive début record and now coming round for her fifth studio album, Alanis can enjoy relative creative freedom having sunk back into more relative obscurity. Of course the album is still a big event but a 30 million selling album can only happen once.
This album features a new sound from Alanis and its the first real change of tune for her. Teamed up with Guy Sigworth, the electronic musical guru, this album has almost as much in common with Frou Frou, Imogen Heap and more electro-rock bands than Alanis’ previous efforts. However change is a good thing and this is a very strong album.
“Citizen of the Planet” opens with various techno wizardry before sounding like a rockier version of Frou Frou’s “Psychobabble”. The guitars and angry vocals are still there but everything is a bit more zooped up for the electronic pop world. The string arrangement also really helps push this gritty opener on. “Underneath” is great crowd pleaser showing that Alanis has lost none of her skill crafting a pop rock hit. Shimmering guitars, flicking beats and synthesisers are the order of the day and I’m glad for it. A lovely uplifting number.
“Straitjacket” follows with more harsher, grizzly bass fused alt-dance track! I wouldn’t have thought I’d have seen the day when I’d be bouncing around to Alanis singing quite bitterly on an electro-dance song. Its here when you realise that this change in sound for the album has breathed new life into the girl and she’s really on form. “Version of Violence” has a massive bass line spewing out at you with lots of typical dramatic chorus lines to get you hooked.
It’s not until you hit “Not As We” that a more traditional Morissette song comes along but this is piano based, heartfelt and delicately beautiful. There is a particular vulnerability in her voice that really makes you sit up and listen. Astounding.
“In Praise of the Vulnerable Man” returns to more electro-fun with a more upbeat crowd pleaser that wouldn’t be out of place on a Madonna album! “Moratorium” takes things back to the darker side quickly with an almost drum and bass tune. Of course it’s been tailored completely towards the mystical dark side of Alanis however its such a far cry from her earlier work you have to applaud her for taking a new direction whether you like it or not!
“Torch” is the lighter waving track on the album. Slow, dramatic and like a song used for a charity advert, its grand in scale but simple enough to catch onto and sing with. A perfect mould of acoustic and electric too if I may say so and that’s down to Sigworth’s excellent work.
“Giggling Again For No Reason” is catchy, fast and fantastic. This needs to be a single and deserves mass radio airplay. There’s something about this song that makes me feel like I’m flying high and the happy subject note doesn’t mean bad song – it means take a break, relax and enjoy. “Tapes” is an ethereal track that benefits from chugging guitars in the chorus and stillness in the verses – a great juxtaposition which makes the song stand out. The album closes on “Incomplete” which is acoustic guitar driven but surrounded by all kinds of zips and booms.
It’s here where the deluxe version helps as you have five more tracks on a bonus disc and these are just up to the same fantastic standard. “Orchid” is beautiful track that flows like water with a perfect harmony of acoustic guitar and electronic beats. “The Guy Who Leaves” is more abstract and unusual with a bite to it. There’s always a certain discord to the bitter songs and the chorus on this track in particular is full of it. “Madness” is a much needed subdued track that is piano driven with a background beat. Its beautiful as much as it is bitter-sweet and that’s what makes it special on this album. “Limbo No More” is a more slower dramatic piece with lots of orchestration and synth work before the massively happy “On The Tequila” pops up like a summer heat beach party song. It works very well and fits the feel of the album well.
The new sound suits Alanis’ vocals very well. There’s emotion there but its controlled. I can see this album winning lots of new fans as this is a very accessible album to get into but I can see many of her old fans not enjoying the uplifting songs. I have to say that’s their loss. This album encompasses most emotions – there is a fire there even if its got warm silky smooth synthesisers all over it. I thoroughly enjoyed this album that’s the first time since Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie was released that I’ve really sat down and enjoyed one of Alanis’ records first listen through. Highly recommended.
Tori Amos and Loreena McKennitt Headline Dranouter Festival
Well the headline says it. The Dranouter Festival in Belgium looks like a great place to be if you can get tickets. Tori Amos will be performing solo (yay) on the main stage. Another Higher Plain favourite Loreena McKennitt will also be present and with both well renowned for their excellent live shows I’m sure that’ll be the place to be on August the 1st!
Other artists included are Martha Wainwright and Jim White.
Live Vault – PJ Harvey
This weeks live performance comes from PJ Harvey and the song “Silence” taken from her latest album White Chalk with PJ playing the piano. It’s wonderful to hear a TV performance from an artist that doesn’t sound wooden and by the numbers so let’s hear it for Lady Harvey!
Chitose Hajime – New Album Confirmed
Chitose Hajime confirmed her new album entitled “Cassini” will be released on the 16th of July. What does seem to conflict though is that the special edition has 12 tracks and a DVD while the regular edition has 13 tracks and no DVD. If this is true then I wonder how many will buy both? A bit unfair surely!
