Customer Reviews

Dusty Trails

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

As a fan of Luscious Jackson, I was always curious as to what was lurking beneath Vivian Trimble's guarded persona. The Kostars record gave a hint. Now all is revealed With Josephine Wiggs (EX Breeders at their best!) on this album, of perfect soundtracked lushness. A bit of Stereolab, a touch of Air and a healthy drop of movie music adds to the intoxication. The aural equivelent of a night out with perfect strangers who become your best friends. I love this. The track sung in French is a delight and Emmy Lou Harris puts in a haunting visit on Cup of Coffee. My Summer soundtrack!

Being a mood music fan in the likes of Saint Etienne and Cocteau Twins, I found this CD irresistible. Great stuff. Do not purchase this CD if you are looking for Luscious Jackson-ish music because 'Roll the Dice' is the closest you'll get. However, if you are looking for a very original and 'smooth as silk' CD, this is it. As with any mellow album, you'll need to listen to the entire disk a couple of times ... and then you're hooked. My sole complaint is that the disk leaves you wanting more songs (it's only 43 minutes long). All tracks are great, but my personal favourites are 'You Freed Yourself', 'Regrets in Bordertown', and 'Dusty Trails Theme'. Enjoy.

An eclectic combination of soothing harmonies with modern trance or ambient instrumentals layered beneath it all. This is a great relaxing disc or great for driving on a nice summer's day. It has a wonderful sound quality and really shines on a good home or car stereo. While it may short on socially redeeming subjects, the lyrics are interesting and do offer some insight into the world of the lyricist. Will this disc change the world? No, but then it may make a bad world somewhat more palatable. Enjoy!

I love this album. I listen to it constantly. Entertaining guests, cooking, you name it. People always ask me who this is. This album was completely overlooked. not a bad song on it. a must for your collection.

This self-titled debut is a pop sensible mix of mellow female vocals and neo-lounge grooves that are bound to make any fan of newer Stereolab (think Dots And Loops era) happy. And although Dusty Strings lacks the groundbreaking experimental feel of that group to whom they're most likely to be compared, they do a fine job making up for that lack with a well defined sound and great songwriting.

If I have one major gripe it's with the band's marketing. The album cover is beyond bad, showcasing the two girls in a band photo that would probably make Celine Dion jealous. Couple that with the pretentious description on the back cover, and you're left with the kind of goofy major label garbage that's bound to keep potential fans from giving this work a chance.

That said, I hope you can do like I did and just forget about the packaging. The music is worth it.

I'm taking Java. I needed music to keep me attentive but not distracted. I listened to the first track, "Pearls On A String" and bought the cd on the spot. What a gem! I can pop "Dusty Trails" into my cd player and do Java until the wee hours of the morning or play it in my car on a road trip. It's lilting, wavy, retro, gutsy, jazzy, and oh sooooo cool. Yippie-Ai-O Viv and Jo!

I have been searching for nighttime headphone music, stuff that I can read to and drift off to sleep. Most of the ambient music I have found ends up being too beat-heavy and not soulful enough. I heard "Est-ce Que Tu" on KCRW's "Morning Becomes Eclectic" and decided to give this one a listen. Perfect for late night reading and dreamy meditation. This is not an pure moods type of album, but rather a nice mish-mash of folk, jazz vocals, moody instrumentals and groovy soul. The artists, however, are not much to look at and would have been better off not showing themselves so poorly posed--yikes!

This CD has become one of my favorites since getting it about 6 weeks ago. I highly recommmend it for anyone who likes to listen to beautiful easy listening melodies. As I write this, I see that it can be purchased for under $2.00 used. What an incredible bargain!

I think this group just needs a bit more recognition and promotion. It is head an shoulders above anything that darn Spears girl ever dreamed of...

In recent years, music's cutting edge have cited movie composers as influences on their work. Everyone from Stereolab to Goldfrapp to Broadcast to Combustible Edison have culled from movie soundtrack to generate new ideas for their music. Unlike the previously mentioned bands, however, Dusty Trails has taken the movie soundtrack influences, and run with them. They've based their whole concept on making great soundtracks to movies that don't exist.

This overlooked little gem comes from former members of Luscious Jackson and the Breeders, respectively. Vivian Trimble and Josephine Wiggs have created a beautifully textured album of moods and tones. Although they scored the recently acclaimed film, "Happy Accidents", upon listening to this album, one might ask why they don't get hired more often. Unfortunately, Hollywood isn't interested in ęsthetic anymore, at least not the kind Dusty Trails produces. As mood music, It's a lot more eclectic than most recent releases of its kind (Air, Stereolab, Zero 7, and Broadcast), and doesn't rely too much on the blips and bleeps that scatter those releases. The songs are shorter and tighter as well.

The only flaw I find, though, is that It's a bit underproduced. Music of this kind should be a sort of sonic ear candy, but the production qualties (which might not be as terrible as I'm describing) seem to come between this album and the listener. Also, these guys should be on a smaller label (like Emperor Norton or Six Degrees) so that they can be given more of a chance to be discovered. If you're a fan of Air, Stereolab, Zero 7, Goldfrapp, Broadcast, and Groove Armada, you'll enjoy this. An overlooked album that deserves to be rediscovered.

Purchased this disc on recommendation while visiting a website. I received it and was blown away. Pretty complex and lavish work. Music doesn't get any better. A+