Customer Reviews

Angels & Cigarettes

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Folk Singer Branches Out. Well actually it's not fair to label Eliza as a folk singer; her musical interests are much wider. This album may be a surprise to anyone expecting another Red Rice. Instead of bringing some old music into this century, now she brings some old-century sounds to today's music. The songs on Angels & Cigarettes, almost all originals this time, are like modern 'alternative' rock (sorry, I hate labels) with a definite folk sensibility, although there are also hints of jazz and reggae among others. Her singing and fiddling are improving by leaps and bounds, although the instrument isn't as prominent as on Red Rice. Largely sad ("Train Song," "Fuse"), but occasionally sunny ("Whispers of Summer," "Perfect"), this is a welcome addition to an increasingly impressive career. Highly enjoyable with some small flaws, such as the heavy-handed overdone string arrangement on "In the Company of Men." It seems as though there are always fewer and fewer of these flaws every time out. I remain curious about what's next.

After reading a review of "Angels & Cigarettes" in a recent issue of Entertainment Weekly, my curiousity got the best of me since I just started getting into celtic-influenced music like The Corrs. I am just stunned by how gorgeous Eliza's vocals are. She kinda reminds me of my favorite folk artist Dar Williams, except Irish. I can hear elements of folk and trip hop in Eliza's music. Tracks such as "Whispers of Summer", "The Company of Men", "Perfect" and a cover of Paul Weller's "Wildwood" really stands out with me. I can't put into words why except for the melodies of these songs struck a chord with me and are just superb songs. Eliza has a real knack for melodies as I heard in "Angels & Cigarettes". Terrific album, terrific woman.

Despite this being misrepresented in the media as a "debut" album, most of us music geeks know Eliza from her previous career: a brilliant interpreter of British Isles folk music. Eliza was a vanguard in that realm because she was unafraid of fusing new threads into old cloth -- after all, what is "folk music" but the amalgam of all that came before? Experiments with rhythm sections (and some of her old band joins her here), extra-genre material, original composition (which she's quite good at), and simply having a good time (rare in folk circles) made her a star. . .

Here she still sounds influenced by English tonalities, but it is placed in a modern setting -- complete with trip-hop beats, faux-analog synthes, and such. A lot of it works, too. Her originals (nine-tenths of the disks) are aluring and sophisticated, her singing as austere-yet-mischievious as always. The funk rhythms add a bit. But ultimately the production makes this a questionable endeavor. Producer Al Scott overdoes everything, from the tinkling synths to the multi-layered backing vocals. What could have been a classic album with a live band is rendered cheap and silly-sounding by his overbearing hand. Still, well worth hearing (and dig BJ Cole's pedal-steel playing!)...

I am awestruck by this recording. I first became aware of the uncomparable Ms. Carthy with her 1998 double album, "Red Rice", which was damned near perfect. It was a unique blend of old world fiddle, celtic drums, and tin whistles with techno beats and washes of synthesizers. I was opened up to a whole new brand of music. I have been eagerly awaiting Eliza's new album for quite some time now. Needless to say, I am far from disappointed. Eliza took the the same formula for "Red Rice", only with more polish and a whole lot more accessability. However, I don't use the word "accessable" in a derogatory form. I use the word in the highest respect. These songs were made to be heard. Every single instrument was masterfully played. Eliza really outdid herself. Trip-hop, dance, techno, orchestral sweeps, and pop all make cameos on the album, but folk is still Ms. Carthy's thing. And she sure knows how to work it! Never before has a violin sounded more alive and vibrant. Granted, this is a folk record, but your grandfather's folk it ain't! Just take a listen to "The Company of Men". It's got a melody that could make Kate Bush swoon and lyrics that could make Liz Phair blush. Beautiful.

Eliza Carthy may be the daughter of British folk icon Martin Carthy and singer Norma Waterson, but with Angels & Cigarettes she is setting her own ground with experimental grooves, classical strings, her own traditional fiddle playing and light worldbeats, creating a rich texture of folky dance pop. Layered in with thick synthesized textures, layered percussion, and hints of trip-hop, reggea, and subtle jazz, she stirs an effective potion of catchy hooks, leaving you sated but sadly unquenched. Most songs average out to be about 3 1/2 mins. in length, leaving you with a taste for more. But the main reason for my 4-star rating is because of the overlayering of string arrangments on "The Company Of Men." It just seems too awkward and overdone. But aside from that the rest of the songs are superb . . . ranging from everything to the joyful "Whispers Of Summer" to the more laments of (my personal favorite) "Train Song." I think the most rememberable song, though, would have to be the haunting remake of Paul Weller's "Wildwood" and "Poor Little Me" which rings with Middle-Eastern infections, echoing her Irish roots. Angels & Cigarettes is a near miss to perfection but is worthy of attention anyways. She's a terrific singer with eclectic tastes. BUT IT NOW! I hope my review helped. Did it?

Eliza Carthy is the daughter of Sir Martin Carthy and Norma Waterson. She's steeped in folk tradition and she brings some of that style to this collection of mostly new music. She ranges from folk ("Train Song") to a sort of hip-hop ("Whole.") For the most part, the songs are excellent: vocals are strong and the instrumentation is complementary; however, "The Company of Men" is over-orchestrated to the point that I've skipped it every time after the first listen.

My favorite of this is "Train Song," with it's dark feeling and elegant fiddling.

Rebecca Kyle, May 2008

To this first time Carthy listeners ears, the music here is nice but not especially remarkable. While it seems to be tagged by most as contemporary folk, what I come away with here is a Celtic veneer on Jewel-esque pop. Violins play an occasional role but only very rarely are they center stage ("Whispers of Summer" is one of the exceptions."Poor Little Me" features a violin placed in an "alt" context...it's run through some sort of phaser/filter.)

There's a hint of a (Gaelic?) accent to Carthy's voice but no foreign language numbers: it's clearly geared to the coffeehouse crowd rather than diehard folk purists.

HIGHLIGHTS:
Carthy seems to be at her best here when she's unashamedly contemporary. She abandons any sops to "authenticity" on "Beautiful Girl" and it's one of the better numbers. It's chock full of skittering video game noises riding a galloping drum machine track. "Whole"'s elegant lust sounds like Sinead O'Connor singing over a Natalie Merchant track. ("I could be all the way around you/Swallow you in myself/Wrap my body around you/You are so small, so delicate, and mine/If only I could warm you all the time...") "The Company of Men" is probably one of the "folkiest" sounding things here if you ignore the sweeping string arrangements. (Parental alert: This is one you'll DEFINITELY want to skip if little ears are present unless you want to explain specific sexual practices to them..) "Wild Wood" is a Paul Weller song redone as trip-hop and works pretty well. It would be believable as a Massive Attack song.

LOWS:
"Breathe" is pretty interesting musically, but the words don't draw me in at all. "Fuse" is also laden with strings like "Company of Men" but the lyric's not as memorable. The arrangement also seems intrusive as though the strings are there to CREATE drama..rather than merely assist drama already in the lyric.

BOTTOM LINE:
It's beautifully produced and tuneful. Once it's over, I can't really recall much of it. There just isn't enough musical "meat" underneath all the dressing. Average.

With a daring bravado unafraid of mistakes (there are very few) and exploration of inventive instrumentation (there is much), this is one of the best albums I own. She evolves with each album she releases, and the fiddle and accordion keep her unique sound cleverly grounded. There are many opportunities for mistakes in her work: the combo of electronics and accordion might not work, the traditional songs might be stale, and so forth. None of these criticisms are the case. She does not miss a lick; this album is easily exactly as intended by her young genius, for while such perfection might happen on a small scale, it cannot happen big like "Red Rice" and "Angels." This is not to say that this album is for everyone, for cutting edge work always leaves someone behind who cannot move forward.

I find it a brilliant album, and I desperately hope I can see one of her shows sometime.

I've been listening to Eliza Carthy for a long time now, and when I heard about "Angels And Cigarettes" being her major label debut, I was a little worried. But I got my hands on an advance copy via the Eliza Carthy Street Team, and I fell in love with it. I've had the advance one for about a month, so I know all the songs by heart. I also bought the ablum today(01-30-01) and have been listening to it all day.

The tracks that stand out the most to me, are Whispers Of Summer, Whole, Poor Little Me, Pefect, Breathe, adn Fuse(practically the whole album there).

Eliza mixed in so many elements of other style's of music, that every song sounds different than the other. The pulsating bass, the twinkling piano, the lingering strings, make Eliza shine brighter than her success from Red Rice.

If you like your folk music fused with other kinds of music, than this is the album for you! From the joyous begining of Whispers of Summer to the mournful end of Fuse, the album radiates brilliance and beauty!

I have been listening to Eliza Carthy for a long time now, and when I heard about "Angels and Cigarettes" being her major label debut, I was worried. But I got my hands on an advance copy via the Eliza Carthy Street Team, and my faith was redeemed!

The album is sheer brilliance! After her notable success of Red Rice, one would think she couldn't follow up. But she has, and with such genius! From the joyful beginning of Whispers Of Summer to the mournful end of Fuse, the listener is rewarded with beautiful songs. Eliza mixed in so many elements of other styles of music, that each one sounds different from the others.

If you like you folk music mixed with everything here and there, you'll love Angels and Cigarettes.