Customer Reviews

Blush

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

 

 

A big change from former / other project Long Fin Killie , Bows' Blush has a lot of layered electronic textures , just like all the reviews say . Sutherland isn't the leading vocalist on every song as I had expected , so I guess if that is the only part of Long Fin Killie which really interests you , which I see a lot of in interviews , don't get this . Actually , go ahead and listen to it as it's completely different , and not a departure from their sound but an embrace of and a look in an entirely different direction . Refreshing .

i love listening to this on my headphones while at work....keeps me moving and motivated! i hate to compare...but these sound clips don't do it justice....so if you like bjork (which is a stretch for a comparison), mono, or portishead....this is fab! the beats are fantastic.......and the cd overall definitely has a mood about it---the vocals slightly melancholy, the beats slightly frantic...so what does that mean? dunno. good buy though!

Somehow the sound of Bows' "Blush" is too earthy to be properly classified as dreampop. The stormy percussion and jazzy horns of the opening track set off the tone for a strange trip-hop experience -- mysterious and seductive, with the sense that you should wake up from this dream soon.

It starts off quietly with the gently peculiar "Big Wings," followed by the muted concert hubbub of "Troy Polenta's Big Break" and the lurching, aching title track. Subdued female vocals, sputtery drumbeats and dreamy string arrangements line songs like "King Deluxe," the elegantly ominous "Speed Marina." Stuck in the middle is a wickedly funny little advertisement for the band, a touch of humor that grounds all of it. It would have been better if placed at the beginning or end, though.

"Blush" comes across as a beautiful nightmare in the middle of a jazz club. Very sensuous and beautiful, but also surreal and disturbing. A feeling of unease runs all through the album, especially since the songs tend to run into one another, shifting and changing like dreams do.

The sound of the music is a mix of electronic beats, shimmers and soundscapes, layered smoothly with some very muted bass and solid percussion. The strings lift it up to the sky, and the jazzy horns pull it back down to earth. It's a surprisingly liquid sound, mixing gentle trip-hop with stormy underbeats.

The vocals come from three people -- Ruth Emond, whose voice is very sweet and airy; Signe Heirup Wille Jergesen, whose voice is a little less ethereal in songs like "Sleepyhead"; and frontman Luke Sutherland, with a sort of quiet falsetto that he keeps low. The feeling they give off is quite sultry, a bit like psychedelic torch singers.

"Blush" lives up to its name -- colorful and sweet. The lush instrumentation and dreamy vocals soften the uneasiness of Bows' debut, and make this a wonderful trip-hop album. Highly recommended.

`Am I supposed to be ashamed of myself for not picking you up when I first heard your voice? It is even more ironic that I actually missed you in a sale, I was really CHARMED by your beautiful cover. I picked you up and dumped you for some bimbo Sarah Cracknell album...Now I finally have you, I want you to be by my side, ALL THE TIME!! For all my folly I apologize to you, for you are so GREAT that you have actually been waiting for me to come back all this while. You are a really versatile creation, your `Big Wings' are so powerful like those of an eagle, transcend me into your world, where I breathe in helium to prevent myself from exploding. You are so shy, you actually `Blush'ed when you see me, which made me give up the idea of you being Trent Ranzor. You look like him sometimes, you really do, especially when you blush. Fortunately you are Venus as a boy, you are in the `King Deluxe' in fur...Oh, `It'll be Half Time In England Soon' and my `Sleepyhead' is going for a trip, trip-hop to be precise. A trip to the dreamland, where the beautiful laid-back music is playing everywhere.' All is just illusion, but the gorgeous album is still with me, I will cherish you, my dear.

If you like Alpha's "Come From Heaven," you'll like "Blush". Not quite as cinematic/emotional, but very lush. The vocals for each track are a perfect fit.

Out of the hundreds of cd's I own, this is without a doubt my favorite. Once this disc hits your player I doubt you'll ever want to take it out. This record is filled to the brim with lush beats, beautiful vocals, and mesmerizing sounds that will fill your heart and soul with glee. Luke Sutherland is a creative genius, destined to go down as one of the finest artists of our time. The man doesn't only create beautiful music but is an up and coming author as well! "Blush" is a triumph, the type of record that will make you want to go out and buy everything the band has ever released (take that as a first class endorsement for the second release, Cassidy, which is also top notch) and everything the label that signed them has released (Too Pure Rocks!). Buy this record!

This album's a real pleasure to listen to...something of a continuation of Long Fin Killie's "Amelia." Luke Sutherland did a good job balancing his falsetto on that final LFK album, and he should rely on it more here--the woman's got a great voice, but...

He should make more albums.

A GREAT AFTERHOURS CHILLOUT: Here's yet another example of something good getting lost in the shuffle. Bows' BLUSH emerged seemingly out of nowhere. I only stumbled on the Bows by good fortune at MP3.com. It's mainly the work of Luke Sutherland, formerly of Long Fin Kille, but this CD is not as frantic sounding as his former band's recordings. (Not to say that you shouldn't seek those 3 CDs out as well.) BLUSH seduces the listener. I'm not really a fan of the drum and bass sound, but Sutherland has managed to use elements of that genre in a tasteful and interesting way. He's thrown in some shimmering My Bloody Valentine-ish guitar sounds here and there, but he doesn't bury the melodies or the sultry torch-singer vocals in the mix. It's all very elegant and sexy, like, dare I say it, indie make-out music! (The only wrench thrown in to spoil the mood is a very short 30 second faux commercial for Bows. While it is kinda funny, it distracts from the beauty of the rest of the record.)

If you liked Portishead's first album, Broadcast, or MBV's lovesongs (if played by cool jazz musicians,) then you owe it to yourself to purchase this.