Utada Hikaru, queen of the vocal tracks due to the general success of Hikari / Simple & Clean returned to the Kingdom Hearts and VGM fray with a brand new song to tantalize us for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts II soundtrack. The offering is a 2 track single entitled “Passion” which is available with just the tracks or with an additional DVD containing the music video.
“Passion” is frankly one of the most captivating vocal songs I have heard in an extremely long time. Starting with soft backing vocals and electronic pulses the song rip roars into a mass drum fest – almost verging on pop tribal and it beats out a stomping stadium anthem chorus to Utada’s sublime vocals which are in both Japanese, and if you reverse it, you’ll catch many lines of English too. The verses are equally rocky and edgy and the whole sound is a much more mature and darker mood which seems to suit the overall look and feel of the Kingdom Hearts game too. The song then finally reaches up a notch for a climax of guitars, drums, electronics and bleeding vocals to return to its very soft beginnings. Amazing. While I must admit I am a huge follower of Utada Hikaru’s previous works since hearing Hikari and going onto hearing Colors – I must state that I have rarely had my breath taken away by a song so easily.
That’s the single version which also appears on the album Ultra Blue. Also on the single we have “Passion ~after the Battle~” which takes away every element of the single version except the vocals and then adds a soft and simplistic piano backing. Beautiful, although the warped vocals can distract at times, it really takes the same song and adds a completely different spin. Once the song has gone through its paces it then strikes up the guitar and carefully goes through a karaoke version of half the song again to finish off which I believe is quite unique – almost like the tune you’d get after you hear the victory fanfare in a game and you’re adding up your exp. points! Clever stuff if you look at the title me thinks!
Now if you have bought the CD+DVD version (as I did) you’ll also get a separate DVD with the music video on which involves anime Utada, lots of drum banging, even more horses and even more dancing kachinas! A visual spectacular but those of you after Kingdom Hearts footage will be left disappointed.
I’d recommend this single to absolutely anyone without hesitation, a masterpiece!
“Dear Friends” is the arranged FFV album, selecting 14 songs and transforming them into real instrumentation.
“Ahead On Our Way” starts off with a nice chant, before using keyboards and drum loops to re-produce the song in a way that sounds like an 80′s synthesizer song. It is very faithful to the original and is a lovely start to the album. ”Lenna’s Theme” is given a beautiful rendition on the softest of guitars, flutes and pads ever, to give a soothing lullaby that is so very easy on the ears.
“Pirates Ahoy” is a magnificently dark and devious song, using a guitar and keyboards to re-do the song to great success. Then suddenly, the song changes into chanting and wild animals. It blends well and gives a sense of a hard journey. “Critter Tripper Fritter” is a great comical song, using every bizarre instrument it can possibly use to make it sound like a circus gone mad! The result is three minutes of pure lunacy and one that is very welcome in this diverse album.
“Intention Of The Earth” is the most dramatic piece so far, with soaring keyboards, bass filled drums and gongs. This song comes to life with the improved instruments, as do they all, as you can get the real mysterious feel with all the true zest of the instruments. ”My Home, Sweet Home” is a vocal song, which is sweetening and charming. Using both English and Finnish, the song emphasises the importance of your real home and your mother tongue. It’s a great piece of insight and one I have a special spot for. ”The Land Unknown” is done in the same way as the opening track, staying very faithful to the original and reacting it with real instruments.
“Tenderness In The Air” is done almost completely on harpsichord that makes for an unusual diversion from the usual piano and it is played very well indeed while “Waltz Suomi” is done in a typical French manner and keeps nicely in time, doing the main theme in various different off-key and off beat styles before having a graceful finish.
“Fate In Haze” makes itself nicely mysterious with its slow tune but that fades away to become a beautiful tune for the choruses and a good build up for a nice finish again. “As I Feel, You Feel” is the first piano based song on the album, and they’ve given it to the right song. Also, there is a narration read over the top of the piece. The music with starts to sound a little lost, suddenly finds its place in accompaniment. The narration is heartfelt, and the singing in the background along with it makes it sound very isolated and cold. Strange, an acquired taste, but well done.
“Musica Machina” gives us a dramatic piece, that will have you stomping your feet to the big beat and heavy synth strings. “Music Box” does exactly what is says on the tin, but how so! It’s an adorable tune, no one can listen to this song and not think “Aww!” The closing track is fittingly “Dear Friends” which is played to precision on a guitar, and before long other instruments fit into the song making it a lovely warming away to end an extremely varied album.
“Final Fantasy V Dear Friends” is a rare treat. It does a bit of everything and does it all extremely well, with no reason to fault it at all. If you loved the game’s music, you’ll adore this. There’s always that extra pinch of excitement seeing how synth music turns out on the real instruments and this is a lesson on how it should be done.
St Vincent’s third full length album came smashing in at the end of 2011 and made a huge impact for me. Perfectly mistimed, mistuned, ugly and boisterous yet full of quirks and beauty within. It’s one of the best audio messes I’ve heard in age.
Opening with “Chloe in the Afternoon” we’re given heavy production, awkward drum beats, wavy guitars and shuffling melodies that are both catchy and eerie at the same time. St Vincent’s vocals are sublime too. Like much of the album, there’s an overlying arc and melody that hits on the opening listen and then you find several other melodies hidden away on further investigation and it’s what makes Strange Mercy as a whole, such a compelling album. Single “Cruel” (with a great music video) is about a straight as they come with a simple hook for a chorus line but the verses and codas are just free-falling angelic flourishes. It’s big, brash, overdriven and great.
“Cheerleader” is a lethargic grind in the best possible way. Lazy faded guitars and held back vocal delivery serves well for the big bursts of bleeding pyrotechnics for a chorus. The beat is almost like a stomping a foot to protest exactly that St Vincent doesn’t want to cheer lead anymore! “Surgeon” is more relaxed with a lot of 70/80′s synth work with some extra funky electric piano swirls. There’s a noise of a vocal/keyboard combination that sounds slightly like a choir that runs throughout the album but here it is used a lot to great effect.
“Northern Lights” is a great rock out track with some fantastic lyrics that I can really relate to. This is the freak out song of the album with crazy solo’s and frantic vocals. The title track “Strange Mercy” is the first quiet track on the album with a clunky drum beat and some lonely spacey keyboard works floating over airy guitars. St Vincent uses her light voice to great effect with precision too. “Neutered Fruit” has some excellent guitar flexing throughout and a real funky track. Not the most catchiest but it holds a different space to the rest with its more minimal approach for the vast majority of the song before it’s a huge finale.
“Champagne Year” is a spacey track that is held by ethereal ambience, humming bass and a kick beat for the first half before other instruments join. It’s very floaty and dreamy. “Dilettante” has a production where all the fuzz and echo is taken away, almost like the life has been sucked out the music and sounds completely different to everything else on the record. The rest of the album has a certain sustain on it but not here. “Hysterical Strength” reminds me of the TV show Knight Rider! There’s a certain 80′s cheese to the main theme of it – in a good way! It’s the chugging bass line and processed drums that do it. It is a fun and frantic track which tidies everything up nicely for the closer “Year of the Tiger” which is a classic St Vincent track and perfectly sums up the album with strange production, chords that don’t usually get placed together and time structures that aren’t the norm.
“Strange Mercy” takes three or four listens before you fully appreciate it. A lot of people say why doesn’t she strip down her albums like some of her acoustic performances. I say keep her pushing the boundaries of sonic sounds on record and let her tour acoustically and that way we get both sides of this fantastic artist.
Sneaking in as #10 in my top albums for 2010 – Zola Jesus was an entirely new singer/songwriter to me late on last year. Conatus was her release that pushed her into spotlight.
The atmospheric “Swords” slides you into her industrial clinic electronic before “Avalanche” introduces you to Zola’s sumptuous voice that cuts like a knife but also it holds a certain depth. Matched with the darkness of the ambient electronic swirling around you it feels like a much darker Cocteau Twin vibe, or should you say Lisa Gerrard is an Angel, Zola would be the devil. The Cocteau vibe hits hardest with “Vessel” where the song flickers and merges on vocal loops over itself into a blurred frenzy in a fantastic stand out single.
“Hikikomori” is a builder track where the keyboards and vocals slowly build over the same few chords and patterns to its triumphant finale before “Ixode”‘s pumping kick beat turns the dark dampness of the depths of Zola’s soul into a mild dance track. You don’t necessarily understand what is being sung but it’s like emotion is being transposed into a vocal sound. It feels strangely enlightening. ”Seekir” takes this one step further with a more straightforward dance-esque track full of lifeless instrumentation and Zola’s flowing voice soaring over the top.
“In Your Nature” for some unknown reason reminds me of a 90′s M-People track Zola style! It’s has a hook that’s actually quite joyous and harmonious and is the first really uplifting song with its strident beat and chords. “Like The Palm of the Burning Handshake” is a very broken and disjointed track which does work well but takes a couple of listens to appreciate it’s very stilted approach to piano playing and keyboard synths. The ending section is very anthemic though and makes up for it if you’re not a fan of that style of song. “Shivers” is a wonderfully constructed track of mini percussive elements of clicks and scrapes before an insanely catchy chorus takes over. A personal highlight.
“Skin” is a very minimal piano / vocal / cymbal shimmering track that is delicate, eerie and beautiful before the album closes with “Collapse” which is like a buzzing healing energy that washes over the rest of the album to try and cleanse all the hurt that you’ve travelled through to get there.
“Conatus” is in many ways a simple album. The songs have a similar sound, structure and poise. It’s the overall feeling and setting of everything though that makes the album far more than the sum of its parts. It’s uplifting, its dank, its a bloodied scream of pain that calls you in like a siren. That is Zola Jesus.
Justin Levinson & The Valcours is a rather fantastic ensemble album from singer/songwriter Justin Levinson and a full crew of musicians backing him up. It’s a step up from his previous efforts as he moves into a Wainwright territory for the future.
Opener “Water Wears the Rock” is a big statement track. Huge rip-roaring choruses, loud drums, piano solos with guitar overtures and a distinct energy that flows from start to finish. “You Became A Ghost” feels like a cinematic pop rock anthem. There’s enough pauses, drum rolls and elating guitar solos to rival a Queen track. It’s fun and approachable and a good starting point to delve into Levinson. “Love You Goodbye” features Gregory Douglass although they are sparsely used. The song itself feels a little clunky as if its been autotracked a bit too tightly for its own good but the melody itself is pleasant enough.
“Let You Go” features Will Dailey and is a sweet rock ballad with some lovely celtic flairs to it which make it quite whimsy while the cabaret brass added to “Bar Scene” is playful while Justin lazily pub sings his way through the song. There’s an annoying bar chat sample that overbears some of the great brass work however. This is why “I’ll Be Ok” works better as it brings all the rough edges together into a playful, wonderful, joyous explosion of music. It’s just one of those infectious songs it’s hard to offended by or dislike.
A wonderful waltzing duet “I Was So Wrong” features Liz Longley gets its country on. Liz’s vocals remind me of Tanya Donelly and the guitar twangs and harmonicas add to create a distinctly different song from the rest of the album. “Million Tears” is a very traditional rock ballad in the Beatles style and showcases Justin’s vocals at its best with various octaves, styles and ranges. “Say What Your Gonna Say” is very 70′s in many ways with its clean guitars, sultry brass and light choruses that slightly shimmer. The album closes with “If You’re Happier” which is another classic Beatles style ballad.
This Side of Me, This Side of You has excellent production values. Everything feels full and explosive. Justin’s vocals sometimes sound a bit like the weakest part of the package as they get swamped by the big songs and I’ve never been a fan of talky singing which some tracks slip into. However looking passed my own preferences I can see this being a very popular album and one that should elevate Levinson up the ranks as a well rounded and catchy album that doesn’t sell its core values.
It’s that time of year again – a wrap up of the top 10 albums I have had the pleasure of buying. This list is for musical artist album releases only. A separate one will be done for game soundtracks. Here goes:
10) Zola Jesus – Vessel
A fantastic culmination and one of my most recent new discoveries, it just edges into the top 10 by providing me with one of the few dark and damp albums of 2011. Her voice harks back to generations of old and the electronics and dramatic song structures make it a treat to visit the darkness every time.
09) Faun – Eden
Band members have left and been replaced and while you can tell that Faun’s sound has changed forever. It still sits firmly in the Pagan Folk genre they’ve helped create but the vocals are more hymn like, English is introduced and the overall sound is one more of a forest pixie raging war on humanity. Either way, it’s still utterly superb.
08) St Vincent – Strange Mercy
St Vincent makes the most clumsy, sloppy and seemingly out of control music seem to still have order, beauty and integrity. Her third studio album is full of all the quirks, embellishments and random freak outs we’ve come to expect but in a more assured manner and with more layers than ever before!
07) Gregory Douglass – Lucid
Having watched Gregory over various live net shows introduce, change, develop and grow Lucid from a concept into a fully evolved being, it’s a fantastic dream concept album that works from start to finish. Showcasing some great technical wizardry, it features some of the most catchy numbers and some of the most heartbreaking from his career to date.
06) Amiina – Puzzle
From what I thought was a lovely, quaint but slightly one-sided debut, Puzzle lifts Amiina into a new level. The quartet have perfected their craft of weaving the most unlikely of instruments together into lullabies but now also into powerful epic seven minute masterpieces.
05) Bjork – Biophilia
Never one to sit still, Biophilia is a career spanning genre bending full flow freak out. Never compromising, always challenging – it contains highlights of Bjork’s most beautiful, most powerful and most scary moments of her musical career.
04) Tori Amos – Night of Hunters
Tori Amos remains my favourite musical artist of all time. The reason this hasn’t reached the top spot is purely because it’s an album that requires a lot of time and effort to digest and I’m not really there yet. The string arrangements are beautiful and the songs are fantastic. Many have called it a return to form but I never saw her falter. A bold new direction and one that pays off.
03) Lamb – 5
The return of Lamb was unexpected but much appreciated with the perfect blend of Lou’s own solo styles and Andy’s more electronic edges. The album is much more direct and approachable with instant hooks throughout, making it by far my favourite Lamb album to date and hopefully will give them confidence to continue on.
02) tUne-YaRdS – W H O K I L L
Only discovering the sheer genius of this lady last year, being able to enjoy the growth from début to album number 2 was phenomenal. All the funky vocal collages are still here, as is the home ramshackle production but this time fused with brass and some more tip-top production too. It just seems like such a natural bloom. Magical.
01) Charlotte Martin – Dancing on Needles
The album that keeps giving with all the b-sides being released online, it’s a perfect merger of all Charlotte’s previous works of piano, guitar, keyboard and pounding drums. Her voice is an absolute marvel and every song is as achingly beautiful and painful as the last. Without doubt my album of the year.
Narrowly missing out were PJ Harvey, Kate Bush, Sarah Slean, The Go Team and Omodaka.
Nier, the PS3 RPG has one of the best soundtracks I’ve heard all generation. Now there’s been a tribute album released so I can’t be the only one thinking the same thing!
“Repose” opens remixed by Sexy-Synthesizer which is weaves the beautiful angelic vocal samples and acoustic guitar samples of a shimmering mirage of technical wizardry. It’s like the keyboard just showers all kinds of arpeggios of greatness upon your ears – it’s really beautifully put together. Matryoshka’s version of “Kaine / Salvation ~ Kaines Escape” is a hushed version of the vocal theme with lots of static noise purring through the arrangement. It reminds me very much of the original Shadow Hearts vocal theme.
“Temples of Drifting Sands” but millstones is a real drum n bass affair moulding the original vocals that are heavily processed around a quickly paced beat. There’s plenty of bright piano added in to keep you amused too. “Emil / Sacrifice” from Ametsub starts off like a fluffy Cocteau Twins track and spins itself into a whirlwind of clicks and real moogy keyboard samples. It’s nothing like the original and the track really flips its character over the five minutes it runs. Superbly diverse and genre hopping, it’s a great display of technical talent.
“Suite of Nier” from arranger Go-qualia however is a tour de force. Taking four tracks and fusing them together in a Gothic beauty. Complete with sharp, buzzing complex drum structures, industrialised keyboard synths and disquieting vocal performances – the whole thing works an absolute treat. “Shadowlord’s Castle / Roar” from Rafven is a great little polka number. Accordion, brass and whimsy guitar make it great fun and when it suddenly kicks into the full speed version, you won’t be able to keep still!
Nobu44 turns to a new genre with “The Incomplete Stone” which is neo-jazz with its slinky organs and low fi chords being lazily played underneath. Then give the monk style vocal some vocoder and you have another surprisingly awesome track on your hands. sasakure.UK’s version of “Song of the Ancients / Devola / Popula” is a hi energy affair with a rocking beat and some hugely complex noise riffs rolling constantly around the speakers. Add in some fantastic piano and string work over the vocals and you have a great mix.
KanouKaoru’s “The Wretched Automatons” is a sublime echo filled dreamscape of underwater currents, string arrangements and soft percussion. It’s a hard one to classify because its soft and dreamy but actually very densely produced. It works very well though, making a soft song have underlying tension. “Grandma” from Schroeder-Headz is an interesting take on the song which starts off very similar to the original and then grows into something more orchestral and grand. No-No2′s track “The Lost Forest” is a typical remake using woodwind, plenty of piano and soft tuned percussive elements giving a warm if mystical rendition. The closer is “Snow in Summer – The Dark Colossus Destroys All” from World’s End Girlfriend is a song that decides to throw in every type of tempo change effect possible, even making me think my speakers had gone wrong. It’s very much of the nature of Nier, Shadow Hearts, End of Eternity etc in its style and its a great dramatic end to a fantastic album.
As a tribute album, Echo is at the top of its game – so much so I’d recommend it as a must have accompaniment to the original soundtrack the expansions soundtrack. Gothic, haunting, slightly nuts but eerily beautiful from start to finish – I have not enough thumbs to up to Echo!
I’ve put his picture here, and it is a game that carries his name but Deepak Chopra’s Leela carries a soundtrack without his music on. Instead eight wonderful artists converge for two discs of beautiful relaxation music.
Brent Arnold opens Disc 1 which is entitled “Play Mixes” with “Origin” which is a warm river of bending string arrangements across the lightest of percussion. It’s so hypnotic and soothing, like taking a velvet bubble-bath. “Life” by Garth Stevenson sounds like something Sigur Ros would compose without the vocals. A slow mellow blend of electric guitar plucks and swirling keyboards eventually come into a brief ascension with bass and light drums of a ticking clock. It’s minimal nature is laboured upon because there are a lot of layers going on, it’s just you won’t detect them all straight away.
“Power” from Karim So is more grizzly with its offbeat tuned percussion and sharper electric gubbins. It’s the least soothing track so far but one of the most immediate because the riffs are more apparent. “Love” from East Forest is a sublime track that combines piano, electric piano and a simple backdrop beat to make a flowing chill out track. It’s the rolling piano that makes it as the two different types interact with each other.
phowa continues the flow with the ethereal “Harmony” which is just bleeding bells and twisted masses of metal slowly pulsating over and over. It works well as a mood piece. “Intuition” by Daniel Perlin is a wannabe techno track in waiting but take away the stomping beat and replace it with a tabla and you’re almost all the way there! Good fun. Disc 1 ends with Keith Fullerton Whittman’s “Unity” which is a shimmering electrosphere of meditation and sorenity. It sounds like something that would be in a film like Koyannisqatsi – or like an electrical version of an early morning Raj. Simple, beautiful, warming.
Disc 2 presents the “Reflect Mixes”. These are more traditional Raj -esque numbers and blend perfectly from one to the other. Some have more electronic elements in them, others are warmer, some of more cyclic. All of them are long in length and all are able to slip you into a state of hypnosis at a drop of a hat. The most traditional is phowa’s “Vishuddha” which is a real Raj in waiting. The sole additional composer here is a wonderful singing bowl trac “Sahaswara” from Phillippe Pascal Garnier which ends the album like a rising dawn.
I fell in love with this double album on first listen. Disc 2 is a very traditional and has a great flow to it. Disc 1 showcases the game’s music itself and really intrigues me with its rhythmic pulsating low fi moves. A unique delight in-game music. For those looking to relax, this should be top of your list.
Sometimes ad’s on facebook do work! I came across Atra Aeterna by clicking on something that told me it was right up my musical alley and by Jove they were right! “November” is not Atra Aeterna’s most recent piece but it the first I’d like to review because as a whole piece of music its utter beautiful.
Each of the nine tracks on the album are named their numbers in order and each is piano based. A thick, syrupy piano that is heavy in a subtle but thick haze that gives a feel of morning fog or a new dusk. Each track starts off with a simple piano riff that is then build upon with an underscoring of keyboard synths. Those synths stay very ethereal throughout and veer towards mimicking string arrangements. Sometimes they sound like water string arrangements for real, but others are more plucky and rely on ambient decay to swirl around you.
As for the tunes themselves, they are all melodic yet not entirely something you’d call a hook. Instead they become a hypnotic texture palette that swirls and dips colours of echoing piano shrills or soothing keyboard samples. Placed over melodies that are dark, full of minor notes and an underlying tension in the beauty and you have something artistic yet wholesome.
That’s as far as I’ll take you as I don’t want to spoil the rest. It reminds me of a Frou Frou lyric: “beauty in the breakdown”. The piano melodies are downtrodden but wise beyond their years. Dilapidated but with clear grandeur about them. It’s a work of art and has immediately become one of my favourite discoveries of 2011.
Composer 12 Followers/Meteo Xavier released a fantastic album called “Meteocrity Vol.1″ which follows the traits of a classic video game soundtrack right down to the core.
Opener “Tempest Rush” is like an J-RPG opening FMV sequence full to bursting of energy and enthusiasm in a 16/32 bit Gust Team type way. It paves for pseudo menu screen “Caveat Emptor” which mysteriously meanders its charms through your ears. Sounding all the 16bit battle rage, “Bitter End to a Thatched Ray of Light” is an uprising storm the castle type track. A harpsichord synth leads the main melody with a complex percussive track going nuts in the background – it really is a celebration of classic old skool battle themes.
“Five is Average” seems to step back a generation to real 8-bits and less. It’s perfectly laid out across the speakers to avoid any hiss and the melody is complete with a synth solo and real charm. A favourite definitely. “Bright Dreams of an Empty Vessel” reminds me of the classic days of MIDI when vgmidi used to rule my days of listening. The fun harp MIDI and no thrills approach is endearing and it focuses you on just enjoying the melody. “Wealth of Knowledge” is a cute twee track with woodwinds and harpsichords chirping away. It’s as bouncy as it is sweet and strikes a perfect balance between a wall of sound and emoting a feeling.
“Asymmetrical Conflict” reminds me of Grandia. It’s the harmonic guitar lead and the organs over such a big stomping beat that really drives this track forward. “Lofty Goals for a Forest Epitaph” has a fantastic free-flowing guitar riff and an upbeat tempo which is unusual for a track that has all the hallmarks of a forest theme. As a result it’s another favourite from the album.
“Colosses of Eygpt” is an interesting track in that it almost tries to avoid making a catchy melody and chords in favour of more obscure chord progressions and offbeat percussion. “Need Insurance? Get a Bullet” aside from having an awesome title is a more straightforward 16bit techno rock battle track and is a riot. “Red Dim Lights and Old Stories” is panpipe led but also heavily drum blasted and the result is an unusual blend of the ancient pipes and an over powering drumbeat which don’t sit well together but still stands out as a viable concept. “Lunar Eclipse Millenium” is another slightly abstract track with lots of tuned percussion playing out the main theme of the piece.
“Isolate the Variable” is a great understated track akin to a profile overview piece or a mission quest music piece. I really like its futuristic/retro juxtaposition with the synths used. “Vestigial Dance of Blades” is another battle-type track but this time peeling off the rockier edges and veering more to dance side, this works much better as a more accessible piece to the masses. “Exploring the Temporal Lobe With a Bomb in my Mouth” is another fine title but is actually one of the shortest tracks on the album and more a mood piece with a banjo playing a little tune over moody keyboard pads. It’s actually a very tightly woven tune and quite enjoyable.
“It Was Written on Your Tombstone” is one of your typical two chord tension pieces but with fun orchestral hits, bells and neat tricks floating all over the place to keep you amused. “The Heavenly Integer” is a lovely warm track of soft pads, synths and melodic harps wrapped up in a beautiful chord progression and an appreciation for letting everything breathe. I have listened to this song on repeat as part of a mood relaxation track – it’s just sublime. The album closes with the upbeat “Starry Knights” which is a sweet track that reminds me of something Hiroki Kikuta would have written. It’s euphoric and celebratory while feeling final and reminiscent at the same time – a great job with limited technology.
Meteocrity Vol.1 is a real bolt out the blue. With no game to place the tunes against I always find composers who write in the game music style particularly interesting as they have to create a mood based purely on melody alone. As a whole 12 Followers/Meteo Xavier does just that with some outstanding tracks that take form a real journey. I felt like I’d levelled up by the time the music stopped.
65 Minutes, 7 songs. That’s a whole lot of epic going on. “50 Words for Snow” in many ways is anything but epic because it’s such a quiet and intimate album as a whole. Effectively a winter album, the songs weave their own patterns of weather.
“Snowflakes” is equally hypnotic as it is touching with a specific piano riff and hushed, muted and warm percussion lightly fumbles around the background. Interestingly it features (and opens with) her son Bertie singing beautifully. You can hear her nuances in his vocals and it fits together beautifully as a duet. Veering off to a jazz edge is the dischordant “Lake Tohoe” which seems to thrive in the opening few minutes with off-key moments and clashing vocals over soft piano and light dustings of electronics simmering away in the background. When the string ensemble arrives is when the song really comes together for me however with a perfect blend of humming and strings. Kate’s vocal’s have deepened and now feel quite sultry here. “Misty” completes the piano heavy jazzier trio that open the album with a simple melody, hushed vocals and as with the previous two, a lack of urgency and a take-my-hand warmth feels yours ears and heart. It’s strange how sometimes doing less makes everything feel like much more. The strings are used sparingly, as are the electronics in the background but you’re aware they’re there. Finally the track breaks into a more climactic ending with subtle guitar and Kate finally breaking out of her hushed tones to release her full voice upon us. It’s a wonderful section.
“Wild Man” is the most commercial track on the album (which is saying a lot about the rest) and in its seven minute entirety the infectious guitar riff is just as powerful and hypnotic but the single is bookended by an atmospheric opening and an additional verse at the end. “Snowed in at Wheeler Street” has a background almost tampura like chord which instantly harks me back to Aerial’s Disc 2. Add to this Elton John popping up playing the part of a lover in what is almost like a conversation in music. It’s typically unique and as anti song structure as possible – yet it makes perfect sense. This is the first track on the album that seems particularly downcast and blue.
Going into the more wilder side of Kate is the title track “50 Words for Snow”. Kate’s vocal’s count 1 through to 50 through a filter that sucks the life out it while Stephen Fry lists off the words! Think Aerial’s title track’s song structure and you’re part way there. It’s the most upbeat of the tracks and most interesting arrangement with lots of wind samples and weird warping whooping sounds. For the chorus Kate then tells us all how many words are left to be told! It’s by far my favourite track on the album. “Among Angels” closes the album in a beautiful way almost like the closing of a season with some delicate piano and vocal travels.
“50 Words For Snow” did not hit me on first listen aside from the single and the title track. Everything else is very long-winded and although it’s full of wisdom and emotion, it lacks the immediate punch to hook you. My interest was more than piqued however and I wanted to go back and rediscover the songs again that I didn’t immediately want to place on repeat. Suddenly like sections in the songs made sense, they formed songs within songs. Then it clicks. Like Aerial, its one that you need to sit through from start to finish to completely appreciate. On their own, the tracks are beautiful, together, they weave a season of winter chills, hearty spills and the warmth of music and language combined in one of the best examples I’ve heard for a winter album.
Last night was my first trip to the Royal Albert Hall and despite having a giant pillar right to the right hand side of me, the venue was absolutely beautiful – a perfect setting for Tori Amos and the Apollon Musacete Quartet to cause an absolute riot on stage.
From the opener “Shattering Sea” we were treated to some of the most sumptuous versions of Tori’s catalogue to date. As with the last tour, things have suddenly tightened up onto an on rails approach but this time it’s amplified because the quartet are providing a stunning backdrop. “Shattering Sea” along with “Precious Things” were the two big screamers amongst what was a relatively ballad heavy set list although with it just being strings and piano that was to be expected. Other surprises were fantastically dark renditions of “Suede” and “Cruel” where the quartet turned the strings to percussive plucks to provide some excellent backing. As a personal highlight I got a simmering version of “Smells Like Teen Spirit”, a unique version of “Hey Jupiter” and one of my very favourites “Siren”. I say unique for “Hey Jupiter” as sadly during “Way Down” the previous track Tori’s piano suddenly became very distorted through the speakers making that song sound like it was coming through a dodgy bootleg. The problem persisted into Jupiter and so they turned the piano off to sort the problem so the first part was just the strings and vocals!
Another snippet I’d like to mention was that “Star Whisperer” in its full glory live was sensational.
All in all, despite the random technical problem, I was blown away. I always have been entranced with her live and she continues to do so even when she isn’t grabbing her crotch, screaming at high volume and straddling benches.
Beyond Olden Acre is an Irish band in the very traditional sense. “The Western Seaboard” is an introductory EP of three stirring folk songs. “Western Seaboard” sets the mood with warm rustic tones of guitars, harmonicas and xylophones with typical folksy rough round the edges vocals. I like the fact it doesn’t feel like the music has been produced at all, like it’s still in its raw format. “Darkest Plains” has more of a swing in its step and the female vocals sound like an Irish PJ Harvey. If anything it’s a stronger track albeit a short one. “Sing My Child” closes with some cute lyrics and cuter guitar plucking. It reminds me very much of the 70′s Hippy era but vastly on the folksy side of things. There’s no electronics, it’s just music as found outside the pub. Slightly lacking overall polish but retaining more charm because of that.
Beyond Olden Acre’s EP is available as a pay what you want release on bandcamp.
Derek Bishop’s music can best be described as an entire wardrobe of Sunday morning regrets dressed up in Saturday nights best. An entire hodge podge of instruments that somehow fit seamlessly together, this is a singer/songwriter that isn’t afraid of merging all kinds of genres and feelings.
Opener “Counterfeit” is showy and poppy with plenty of funky piano and organs and even Vegas brass blasting you through the speakers. Yet the subject matter is something you wouldn’t want to be waving costume feathers at. What is on display here is some absolutely fantastic piano chops. There’s a great solo and Derek’s vocals flex around it in all the right places. After the fanfare intro “The Last Word” is no less playful but veers more towards electro-pop with fast paced vocals and some fun interplay between the piano-rock and the dance floor genres. It’s a prime example of how you can take an entire world tour in a single song. I’m not aware of many other songwriters who can so competently and confidently flick the switch between four bars of electropop to four bars of lounge jazz to four bars of 70′s keyboard cheese-fest and all sound perfectly plausible. Derek doesn’t sit still!
“Harvey” wheels out the honky-tonk for the most conventional song on the album so far which sounds like a warm hug at the bar for a final song before hometime. Even when singing about sad subjects, the songs still burst with a flowery skip in their step be it through the uplifting and catchy choruses or the happy brass backings. “Take Him Away” reminds me of Shirley Bassey! The low rumblings of the pianos and the oohing back vocals accompanied with cheeky organ flourishes make it the sultry kiss in the dark track – it’s hard not to shuffle your hips to it. “Pass Me By” features lush vocal arrangements and showcases Derek’s vocals that haven’t had the chance to shine because you’re so taken aback by the kitchen sink production of the songs so far. It’s a very sweet song and its relatively simple production compared to the rest of the album makes it a calmer addition to the album. “What It Takes” then follows with a slower ballad which places Bishop’s vocals so far to the foreground the rest of the music doesn’t fit the song until the second half when it all comes together beautifully.
“Set You Free” opens with a fantastic line “I wish you the worst… which is the best for me!” This has some fantastic playing from various instruments and is possibly my favourite track on the album for switching gears constantly in tempo and instrumentation. “Find Him Again” continues the slightly darker edge with less of a fanfare and more of a bass guitar and electric keyboard rumble building the tension. There is clearly a 70′s elevator influence hidden within Derek with all the funky electric piano used throughout the album. “Why Hold On” has a wonderfully rich honky-tonk piano leading the way in what is a purposefully clumsy cabaret track. It’s warm and fun.
“Fold” is a straightforward track which lets the songwriting shine through with intricate verses and choruses before “Thinking About You” gives us the sole piano / vocal track on the album. Surprisingly it’s not a quiet track and reminds me specifically of Elton John. The closer “Jackpot” is a short and chirpy track using plenty of 8-bit sounds and plenty of percussion. It’s a real tour-de-force to fit in as many instruments and styles in 150 seconds as possible. It’s typical of Derek, typical of the album and so unique to him.
“Resistance Is Beautiful” almost seems too big for the speakers, like it’s so jam-packed of sound and wonder it can’t fit itself into just one sonic sound to push itself out. Unabashedly joyous in places and precision perfect mastery of instrumentation throughout, Derek Bishop has added himself to what I call the kitchen-sink genre, where no stone is left unturned for some of the finest music available. Quite possibly my favourite new male artist of 2011.
My Brightest Diamond returned with her third full album “All Things Will Unwind” and after beautiful orchestration and minimalist taut rock, this time we find a pure fusion of her previous works.
Opener “We Added It Up” is a beautiful acoustic led ditty with the vogue instrument of the moment bass Clarinet tooting along in the background. There’s also some wonderful vocal montages in the second half of the song. It’s a light opener which paves the way for “Reaching Through to the Other Side” which has some great flute and string work. Reminding me of some of the more sweeping work Shara has done before, her higher vocal register makes for some achingly pure moments. It’s interesting how one vocal note held over lots of other instruments can stir up so much emotion. “In the Beginning” again showcases the session musicians with some cute woodwind flurries. This is one of the less direct tracks on the album, taking the approach of a sweeping story in four minutes instead. It has several transitions and all of them are endearing and softly rounded. It’s an acoustic psychedelic jamboree.
“Escape Routes” shows us a new side to Shara’s music – a cheeky one! The cute guitar strums are high-pitched and playful and the string and wind arrangements, as they are to some extent throughout the whole album, are intricate but joyful. By extension, the cute transforms to the dramatic with the single “Be Brave” but unlike the sweeping soundscapes of her previous string work, this highlights the more bursting harshness of the arrangements on the album. It’s far more tightly woven even when the choruses burst into full life.
“She Does Not Brave The War” is a lullaby of sorts with enchanting plucks, shimmering prepared pianos and wallowing clarinets. It feels like you’re being tempted out to sea by a siren. In contrast “Ding Dang” is a short song full of clattering tuned percussive beats being scored over. It’s cute and pretty especially when the marimba is used. It breaks into a finale as the song builds up and is unique as it is fun to listen to. “There’s a Rat” has the best lyrics I’ve heard in a while. “There’s a rat in my kitchen and its eating my cheese!” There’s a slight tongue in cheek approach to the hill billy country with the execution of the song and Shara is trying to Kate Bush her vocals which don’t quite pull off at the same level but it’s still a fun and interesting track nonetheless. “High Low Middle” continues with the fast patter of cheeky uptempo numbers with electric organs and folksy drums. This diversion into the country Disney genre infects the whole album but nowhere is its jazzy hands momentum most apparent than here. “Everything is in Line” is another interesting track that’s a duet with DM Stith and they interplay perfectly together as the marimba and thumb piano play off each other in unison. It’s one of the more immediate tracks to get into. The album closes “I Have Never Loved Someone” which is based around a pump organ complete with a squeak cutely playing in the background throughout. It’s warm and glowing and a whimsy end to what is an album that straddles emotions throughout.
Reviewing any “My Brightest Diamond” work is tough because what I have thought of her work initially is always a lot less than what I feel about it say a year later. I find myself struggling with its tone. Some of it is too cute for its own good and it doesn’t sit well with the vocal delivery. When things are more subdued or dramatic it suddenly all clicks into place. I guess this is another album I’ll end up enjoying more and more over time, like her previous two. “A Thousand Sharks Teeth” failed to capture me on first listen yet now I regard it as one of my all time favs. I don’t think this rivals that albums status but I’m sure it will grow over time.
We do love Bjork here at HPM and her latest album “Biophilia” is another stunning, almost career spanning album taking bits and pieces from other albums and meshing them altogether.
Opener “Moon” see’s the return of Zeena Perkins’ harp for a beautifully layered track that starts off with a very simple melody and then extra layers of Verspertine-like muted percussion is added on with mergers of Medulla vocal collages. It’s a truly emotive piece but one that doesn’t set the tone for the rest of the album. That’s left more for “Thunder Bolt” with thick organs and pulsating Tesla coils. Biophilia is very much about atmosphere and depth. Avoiding any kind of hook whatsoever, the Tesla coil spits out arpeggios while Bjork becomes her own choir over the top. Utterly unique.
“Crystalline” see’s the invent of another beautiful instrument, the Gameleste. It’s jingling xylophonic bells are the beauty to the electronic harsh percussive beast of the beat. The two melt together perfectly as the only song with a specific verse / chorus structure. The final minute see’s the song breakout into a frenzy of breakbeat showdowns and this is the most energetic the album gets. “Cosmogony” takes the brass elements from Volta and Selma Songs and goes spacial with a wonderfully warm and cosy number full of hushed tones and heartbeats. It’s ethereal and mostly a calming piece as all the harshness of the brass is taken out and almost sounds like a thousand people humming. “Dark Matter” returns to the organ that almost sounds like a humming space probe. Bjork’s vocals are manipulated into a twisted mess and it’s really quite eerie. Think the organ version of “Cover Me” and you’re part way there. “Hollow” goes one step further with one of the most atmospherically disturbing tracks she’s created. A stabbing organ, reversed backing vocals and little regard for a melody at all, this is all about scaring ten barrels of juice out of you. After these two tracks, I now would like to start a petition to get Bjork to score a horror film.
“Virus” is possibly my favourite track on the album. Using the Gameleste and warm keyboards / steel drums the track weaves a heart wrenching and beautiful track. It’s full of quirky tuned percussive instruments but they all sounds sumptuous together. Again, although this track has a melody, its more about the arching emotion and atmosphere. “Sacrifice” makes this clear with an awesome futuristic sounding synth noise that also sounds medieval. It’s the sole instrument along with the vocals but it’s all that’s needed in what is a great song full of vocal layers and duelling melodies. “Mutual Core” is the other big hitter with drums and bass on the album. Based on the albums most prominent instrument, the organ, we are treated to some Homogenic-esque bass beats which soon break into their own grizzly euphoria as the backing vocals rise and rise and Bjork lets rip. The normal edition of the album closes with “Solstice” which after lots of digital trickery returns to a more acoustic root. In many ways it’s the typical minimal closer that Bjork likes to place at the end of her albums and this one feels almost freeform in its minimal nature. I felt like I needed a campfire while listening to it.
On the deluxe edition you are also treated to an extended version of Hollow, an equally eerie Dark Matter with a choir added on and the extra track “Nattura” which is a fantastic track I urge people to seek. It’s a massive drum solo with random squiggle riffs and Bjork ad-libbing over the top. There’s nothing like it on the album, nor has she made anything like it elsewhere – it’s more like her Sugarcubes days!
Biophilia is almost devoid of classification. I hate it when people just say the music is bonkers and mad. There is true genius here. Those going after melodies may be disappointed however as Biophilia is all about the overarching feeling. It’s strength lies in the fact that when the albums finished you feel you’ve been somewhere, felt something and want to feel it again. If that isn’t a work of art, I don’t want to go to the gallery.
Dirtblonde are a UK rock duo that hammer their sound right up to the speakers and chug away like the 90′s grunge and 80′s overkill guitar we all love. Their new EP “Token Rose” is a great introduction to the band.
Opener “Token Rose” showcases them at their best with a real blasting with power chords blasting through the speakers and ethereal wavering vocals. It reminds me slightly of a more coherent Cocteau Twins that’s more focused on power than melody. “Broken Glass” goes more for the melody with an acoustic/vocal number that sounds like it’s been recorded purposefully away from the microphones as it has an airy mystical quality to it. “In Furs” however is dirty and seedy with its almost organ like guitar picking over the main three chord riff. What Dirtblonde show in all the five songs is their effortless ability to weave just a couple of chords into something that is much more than the sum of its parts. The vocals are so sad and lethargic and juxtaposed against the harsh guitars and stomping drums, it’s nailed a certain whimsical given-up feeling. “Lonesome Girl” is an overdriven guitar fest with a tambourine attached for good measure. Dank and dirty from beginning to end, I felt like I needed a bath afterwards. The EP closes with “Machine” which is the most produced track with a nifty bass riff and eerie guitar feedback bleeding from ear to ear as the vocal echo on repeat. It creates a great atmosphere.
This is a great EP from a new band that I’m now very much excited over. Dirtblonde show diversity and a knack of making a space of their own. HPM would like a full album please!
“Mysterious Skin” is UK-based rocker Kafka’s latest album and its a double! Not just double CD but double whammy. Kafka manages to weave enough radio pop rock into some original themes and unique nuances to make everything sound fresh but familiar at the same time.
“Start Again” opens disc one with a spangley radio rock number which is catchy and showcases Kafka’s vocal flexing. “Maybe Later” walks down the bass lead path in a particularly catchy number that reminds me of some of the darker days of Depeche Mode when they made their more creative music, albeit more rockier. Just the right amount of ramshackle and anthem. “Susanna” reminds me of 90′s U2 but that’s because of the electric guitar riffs playing throughout. What is clear though is Kafka makes very catchy choruses as you’ll have these three choruses in your head quite quickly.
“Take the Knife” is a mid-tempo rock out that reminds me of some of the more chilled out Stone Temple Pilots tracks and sometimes Kafka’s vocals even sound the same. “Fall on Call” is the companion to “Maybe Later” musically but feels like the lighter version as it follows some of the same chords. It does introduce some female backing vocals that go beautifully with Kafka’s voice and sets up some of the more ethereal sections of “Run With the Buffalo (7th Wave)” which is a really uplifting track – the kind you want to freak out to with a giggle of laughter. “Jump Down” makes me laugh too because there’s a cute organ playing a cheesy riff in the background while the rest of the music pumps out what is a certified biker song surely. It’s got all the hallmarks of what a biker song should be!
“Different Folk” is the token slow builder before the album takes a turn into a warmer acoustic/keyboard base with “Is It Something I Can Help You With?” which is a beautiful track full of so many embellishments of guitars twists and picks over what is a simple chord structure. As the song evolves it changes tempo and mood from defeated to uprising and showcases some of the best work on the album. “Wrapped in Plastic” is a chirpy and simple track before disc one closes with “No One knows” which is an acoustic rock track complete with harmonica. As it’s the only fully acoustic track on the disc it stands out and Kafka’s vocals suit the mellower edge.
Disc Two opens back up with the more rampant “Naked in the Rain” where the signature whaling guitar resonance fills the speakers throughout the bridges and choruses. “Goodnight (RFAD)” which was the first video single is a great rock track with three songs worth of catchy riffs squashed into one track and is particularly fun. “Cold and Confused” feels like a real stadium anthem track with lots of layered chorus vocals and rising chord progressions. It really gets you bubbling up inside. “A Life of Crime” is another strong rock number before the tom drum happy “Fire Dance” track takes over. It’s insanely catchy and upbeat. “Friends Like Glue #7″ has an interesting electronic feel with some mutated guitar sweeps and “Don’t Cry” should be on the radio as a main stay. It’s got a great hook and is the most conventional song on the album for the general public to test Kafka out.
“Prozac For Valium” is well produced while “Blind The Eye” follows the same two chord verse / four chord chorus loops that a lot of the songs have gone through and work so well. The songs feel much bigger than they really are because of all the little electric guitar flicks and twists bursting out the seams. “A New Deal For the Leper” is an absolutely stonking track ranging from slightly mystical right through to thrashing stadium rock which gets you really fired up and moshing away. The album closes with “Your Not the Only One” which is an acoustic guitar / string. It’s actually quite fast paced which makes a refreshing change for an acoustic track closer.
Kafka’s debut album as a double CD affair is a tall order. Sometimes the vocals are a bit rough around the edges but sometimes that makes things more emotive and pressing. The music itself fits nicely around the radio rock genre and while some of the songs are quite similar, there are more than enough standouts to warrant a damn good listen to a new talent of the UK.
Simon recommends: “Run With the Buffalo (7th Wave)”, “Is That Something I Can Help You With” and “Goodnight (RFAD)”
Tori Amos never sits still. This latest album see’s her drop band instrumentation altogether and produce an absolutely sublime orchestrated album. Underpinned by the trusty piano, vocal cameo’s from family members and some lovely interpretations of classical themes, it’s a cracking album.
Opener “Shattered Sea” is growling and dark. The low rumbles of piano thunder against the crashing string and wind instruments as they build and roll like waves of power over the speakers. What’s great about this and every other track is that they are variations of classical themes of the 16th to 18th century. I’m not one to be able to pick out the themes but then going and finding the original tracks after, it’s interesting to see how they’re woven into the track. After the fierce opener “Snowblind” introduces Tori’s daughter Natashya Hawley as a vocal where the two interplay off each other. Natashya’s vocals have a real husk to them and convey a lot of soul. Should she want to, she could have an interesting musical career from the voice alone. The two voices sit very well together as the bluesy and sprawling piano floats in and out.
“Battle of Trees” in a near nine minute epic. The strings in this song are beautifully arranged are they pluck the main melody. Tori’s vocal’s also shine here too with a lot of different ranges hit. It’s not the catchiest song on the album at all but it still has a knack of standing out and staying with you longer afterwards as a general feeling. “Fearlessness” is another track that emotes a feeling as they piano and oboes flow effortlessly. What I will say about both tracks is that upon each listen I find new instrument flourishes and appreciate them ten times more each play through.
“Cactus Practice” is a song that reminds me of Fantasia for some reason. It’s heavily wind instrument based and of all the songs, this is the one that sounds like it still is in the 1800′s. Natashya’s vocals really suit the oboes and bassoons. “Star Whisperer” is the longest track at just under ten minutes. Slow and deliberate, the track slowly evolves and has some beautiful transitions, particularly the “I heard you scream from the other side of the mountain” where Tori is able to flex her piano chops and sound utterly adorable. Tori’s vocals are on top form throughout but the instrumentation often takes the limelight. Here in this track there’s a lovely instrumental section where the track creates a frenzy before it moves into its final few minutes and it’s some of the best music I’ve heard all year.
“Job’s Coffin” is an excellent track. A simple piano riff embellished with horns and clarinets. Natashya takes the lead vocals here with Tori playing backup. It’s just a simple song that sticks in your head for a long time after and it was after Shattered Sea, the next track I stuck straight on repeat. “Nautical Twilight” is very classical with thick arpeggios and a theatrical turn of vocal display. I love how the verses build up to a specific climax which she fades away to reflection straight after. “Your Ghost” is another track that’s got a strong melody and it actually feels very Christmas orientated for some reason and sounds like it sound be on Midwinter Graces! Beautiful and quaint.
“Edge of the Moon” is a song of two halves. The first half is a downbeat and careful and the second half is a full free-flowing burst of energy. I actually thought it was two separate tracks at first but they go so well together with some great dueling vocals. “The Chase” is fantastic track that has an underlying tension throughout as Tori and Natashya dual each other with some fantastic lyrical parries. It’s just something completely different to anything Amos has done before and so refreshing. “Night of the Hunters” introduces for just one track Kelsey Dobyns as a third voice and her vocals are sublime and angelic. A song of many faces and moods, it shapeshifts around between nostalgia, freeform and some beautiful interplaying and overlaying vocals.
“Seven Sisters” is a gorgeous instrumental between the piano and the clarinet. It really showcases Amos’ power as a composer, a performer and an emotive musician. This is also captured in the album closer “Carry” which is about as close to a single as you could get on this album. A ballad of sorts, it’s the most conventional song alongside Nautical Twilight and Jobs Coffin but holds a completely different emotion. By the time you’ve finished you feel almost like you’ve been reborn by how the previous track feels light an enlightening and Carry feels like a walking away from the wreckage piece.
I’ll make no bones about it, Tori Amos is one of, if not the favourite artist of mine musically but I can absolutely see why others wouldn’t appreciate or like her music. Night of the Hunters will not bring back old fans who want Little Earthquakes part 1,000,000 but this is generally like nothing she’s done before and deserves to be listened with fresh ears and classical lovers will find a new album that they can enthuse over. I for one am bowled over yet again.
Wow is all I can say for this three track digital single. Omar Souleyman’s reworkings of “Crystalline”, “Tesla” and “Mawal” are simply a work of dense precision art. Each track has be transformed into a bouncing electro bollywood number as a digital sitar beautifully works its charm. With Crystalline Bjork’s vocal’s interact perfectly to make a bouncing but catchy track. Tesla has more of Omar’s voice chanting than Bjork but the two fit beautifully as they warp round eachother. There’s a lot of frequency changes throughout the single but that just makes the dense note changes even more mesmorising. “Mawal” closes the single in style with a third awesome vision of Eastern Iceland.
As if I wasn’t desperately wanting Biophillia already, now I’m positively panting for it. Single of the year by far.
Utada Hikaru, queen of the vocal tracks due to the general success of Hikari / Simple & Clean returned to the Kingdom Hearts and VGM fray with a brand new song to tantalize us for the upcoming Kingdom Hearts II soundtrack. The offering is a 2 track single entitled “Passion” which is available with just the tracks or with an additional DVD containing the music video.
65 Minutes, 7 songs. That’s a whole lot of epic going on. “50 Words for Snow” in many ways is anything but epic because it’s such a quiet and intimate album as a whole. Effectively a winter album, the songs weave their own patterns of weather.
