Customer Reviews

We Are the Music Makers

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

 

 

"We Are The Music Makers" is a gorgeous album as multi-layered as a chinese buffet. i am so thankful for this album. as you listen to the songs, you can imagine ronnie up till quarter to four in the morning, twiddling knobs and adding little sounds to the musical porridge, knowing no one may ever hear each tiny blip but wanting the music to be perfect. you can tell he loves his work and puts his heart into it. Christians may feel dazed and confused at first listen ("i thought this guy was a Christian artist... i can't even tell what he's saying!) but joy electric is more subtle than most and an interpretive reading of the lyrics will uncover deep musings about the Lord. this band has never been one to ignore life's sorrow as well as its insanely happy times. i have all of ronnie's albums and despite the lushness of "melody," the bright tones of "old wives tales," and the assorted flavors of "robot rock," this remains my favorite, an irreplacable gem to those who come to love it. not for those who expect to know the album well in one or two listens. "he who seeks will find her... gifts more fine than silver."

This album conjures electric ghosts, creaking castles, bouncy rhythms. This album is awesome.

joy electric mesmerizes with an album of medieval themed songs that seem to come from the farthest reaches of nintendoland! leaving behind the candyland whimsy of melody, we are the music makers is a consistently darker and more haunting record filtered through the majestik romanticism of the middle ages. the songs tend to have a sameness, but that doesn't prevent the cd from drawing you into the new fascinating world of wonder and awe joy electric creates!

Bubblegum bleeping synthesizer turned haunting and depressed... How does that even work??? This album has remained among my favorites for 8 years with such company as Radiohead, Guster, Death Cab for Cutie, VAST, Royksopp, Coldplay etc. After listening to a Radiohead album it seems laughable to then switch to a Joy Electric album. Yet I find can love them both simultaneously because Joy Electric (this album particularly) contains the same catching depressed emotion, the same wandering musings painting strange yet somehow familiar pictures than only an inner aching can decipher. I find beauty and genius in both of them. JE's album Melody is a close second and all of his other albums I find to be catchy but empty collections of beeping. Ronnie Martin's (Joy Electric) remixes of his brother's band Starflyer 59 are also enjoyable.

I believe this album was an answer to critics' condemning "Melody" as overly poppy, sugar coated and unemotional. If that's true, I guess nobody bothered to read the lyrics on "Melody". Even though the melodies are ultra-sweet, the lyrics are, for the most part, emotional and very melancholy. Martin wanted to make sure there was no criticizing Music Makers for being bubbly and poppy. This album is way more down-tempo, containing many more minor chord changes, and doesn't really sound as strong as some of his other early material. Ronnie Martin is very good at writing fairytale sugary synth pop, and he should continue to do so despite what critics say. After all, you're never going to please everyone, so might as well do what you're good at. Burgundy Years is an excellent song, As is Hansel, the Harvestry of Ghosts and May All Saints, but the rest of the album is pretty much average. Although I love all of Joy Electric's music, my favorite is definately pre-White Songbook, with the exception of this album. If you're a fan of newer J.E. like the Ministry of Archers and Hello, Mannequin, you will probably enjoy this album also. If you own the Art and Craft double disc, you already have the songs on this album that are worth listening to, and unless you need this to complete your collection, it's really not the best J.E. album to have. If you're new to J.E., try Melody, Robot Rock, CHRISTIANsongs or even the Old Wives Tales E.P. before you get this one.

Not as good as Robot Rock, but it's still a lot of fun. If you buy this album, you're going to like it. It's as simple as that. Very spooky, ghosty sounding Joy Electric. The lyrics are in some sort of weird fairy-tale style.

I was a Joy Electric fan before I got this cd. I looked up this cd online and I found out my friend, whom I borrowed her Christian Songs cd from, had this cd and so I borrowed it and I thought it was cool. Ronnie Martin, who is the vocalist, is very creative in making the music. All he uses is a synthesizer and no other traditional insterments. This group is also a christian group so they don't sing anything bad. The music is really great but I enjoy the other cd's better. I do like # 1,2,3,4,6,8 and 10. You might enjoy this cd like I did.

I heard this was supposed to be a Christian techno album. I listened to the first two songs and I hated it. It's like Gothic meets the Main Street Electrical Parade with just a tiny twist of Bible scriptures. It was nothing like I wanted.