2 Foot Yard

Carla Kihlstedt (Artist) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 21, 2003)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Tzadik
• ASIN: B00007J4S2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.5 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #159,092 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars eclectic solo album from quirky lady., August 29, 2004

By 

Lord Chimp (Monkey World) - See all my reviews

This review is from: 2 Foot Yard (Audio CD)

Carla Kihlstedt is quite a remarkable violinist/vocalist in her myriad projects. She is one of the founding members of Sleepytime Gorilla Museum (killer avant-rock band), the Tin Hat Trio (a chamber jazz trio of guitar, violin, and accordion), and is one of the singers in Charming Hostess (their album _Eat_ is a great blend of progressive female vocals, Eastern European motifs, twisted folk music, and avant-rock quirks). She has been a contributor to many others artists' recordings, including John Zorn, Tom Waits, and Mr. Bungle. She has made quite a name for herself in the San Francisco bay area as a classical performer and improviser. So what does her solo album offer?

Like the expanse of her career, Kihlstedt's solo album is quite diverse. For the most part it consists of Kihlstedt's avant-garde art songs as well as a few atonal instrumental musings. The writing is extremely strong, and given her background (especially with Charming Hostess) it is really no surprise that her vocal lines are ravishing. There's the catchy opener, "Empty Cupboard", which sounds like something Kate Bush might have done with more classical background. "Rooting for the Shy Librarian" is a feisty track with catchy "ooh"s and "ahhh"s over a repetitive violin figure. "Last Resort" opens with picturesque but sorrowful solo violin, then enters slow, elegiac vocal lines: "Before you cut my rotting tree find me a last resort." Then there's "Trampolina", which sounds like a bizarre nursery rhyme. "Patchen" is a mere two minutes, building on a minimalist texture of quiet but fast violin lines weaving beneath an elusive and graceful vocal.

The instrumental pieces are fewer in number, but they are also quite rad. First there is "World of Made", an insane pointillist array of string pizzicatos playing the hell out of catchy melody. "Far and Wee" is a beautiful duet for violin and viola where one plays a seductive melody and the other blitzes through scratchy runs. "When Will Tomorrow End?" is the last piece of the cd, with Kihlstedt playing "trumpet violin." I don't know what on earth that is (sounds like the two eponymous instruments being played at once, sorta), but its contemplative lyricism makes a nice ending for this great album.

Recommended!

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Debut? Maybe. Stunning? Absolutely., August 17, 2003

By 

Peter F. Stubbs (Portland, OR United States) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: 2 Foot Yard (Audio CD)

While violinist Carla Khilstedt has been an active participant in many bands and recordings (Tin Hat Trio, Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, Charming Hostess among many others) this is her first recording as a leader, and it's a doozy. Ranging from the sublime ("50 Miles") to the harrowing ("Flinch") to the delicate ("Another Day"), this album brings to bear all Kihlstedt's formidable range, highlighting the strengths of a musician of rare ability.

Voice and strings are served by small, often intimate arrangements, bringing you into the music. Songs have individual character, differing greatly in tone, content and style, yet all the music is of one basic nature, obviously from one mind and voice. To visit so many musics in one outing is remarkable, but doing so and still retaining such a strong sense of individual identity is exceptional, probably the best single word to describe this album.

For my money this is THE record of the year. Confident without being cocky, beautiful without being self-absorbed, skillful but not gratuitously so. Accessable to the casual listener but a wealth of depth for the discerning musician, I cannot think of a single thing I'd change. This is a stellar piece of work from one of the most interesting musicians working today.

Get it. Put it in your brain.

12 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I want to marry Carla Kihlstedt, April 24, 2004

By 

stu - See all my reviews

This review is from: 2 Foot Yard (Audio CD)

I write music myself. It is my passion. She is one of my new favorite composers. If I could, this is the music I would be writing.

The first time I heard her play was on Mr. Bungle's California release. Then, I saw the Tin Hat Trio and was completely blown away. Next it was Sleepytime Gorilla Museum, which quickly became my favorite band. Yesterday I listened to 2 Foot Yard and my first reaction was giddiness. I loved every minute of it and was left wanting more.

Now I will attempt the impossible - describing truly original music. If you have heard Sleepytime Gorilla Museum and Tin Hat Trio, you can use that as a point of reference. Kihlstedt has an uncanny knack for creating hauntingly broken harmony and then finding just the right melody to gel it together. Her music is just the right mix of all sorts of popular music and modern classical. She is a fan (and so am I) of close, harmonies that are dissonant, but that have an almost consonant effect. It is truly beautiful music that constantly demands your attention. How about progressive, intelligent pop (and I use that term in the loosest way possible) meets Weil meets Webern.