Customer Reviews

Ft Lake

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

 

 

This album deserves 5 stars on many aspects. I love HNIA for their pop songs tinged with a little perversity here and there. Musically, this album is their most rockin' and groovin'. The beautiful layers of melodies and noises are still there but now there is a fine groove underneath. Vocally, this album is more diverse with two female and one male singer trading off songs. Lyrically, sex is a main theme but it is not at all trite as is with most rock songs. It is sweet and truly erotic. The imagery is never boring. There is so much depth in this album. And just kicks some of the electronic segues between songs are just as good as your favorite Aphex Twin or u-ziq songs.

Warn Defever is a genius, truly. Over the last 11 years his project His Name is Alive has covered myriad musical genres and displayed impressive talent in songwriting, instrumentation, and productions. FT. LAKE, HNIA's 1998 album, is perhaps Defever's most instantly likeable release.

Here on FT. LAKE the atmosphere is more of collaboration than Defever's single-handed directing. Defever has brought together many of his past singers and instrumentalists, such as Karin Oliver and Trey Many, as well as some new faces. Lovetta Pippin, who's sang in the gospel choir of the last song on STARS ON E.S.P. (and who will be the centerpiece of HNIA's next album, SOMEDAY MY BLUES...), here bestows her soul charm on three tracks. The track lyrics are saturated with cleverly-hidden sexual-innuendo, just like with most HNIA albums, and any HNIA fan will be happy to see that, if Warren's got his mind in the gutter, at least he's being creative about it.

The songs on FT. LAKE are an interesting mesh of oldies, 70's guitar-heavy R&B, and Warn's own electronic stylings. This album, in a HNIA first, features guitar-jams, here on the songs "Rock and Roll Girl..." and "Wish I Had A Wishing Ring" (the latter had to be cut from 17 minutes of Hendrix-style jamming).

This album is one of the best introductions to His Name is Alive, even though Warn's already moved past its style (SOMEDAY MY BLUES will be straight-out R&B). FT. LAKE is a pure rock n' roll experience, and is so much better than anything you would hear on the radio. If you like FT. LAKE, I recommend the "Can't Always be Loved" single, which includes the radio edit of that song as well as the full-length version of "Wish I Had a Wishing Ring."

I've been a HNIA fan since I first heard "Home Is In Your Head" almost 10 years ago. The band has produced a truly eclectic catalog of albums, spanning a variety of different styles. This album showcases their more recent direction, which is more band-oriented and relies heavily on Lovetta Pippin's soulful vocals. Unlike the more recent album, this one still includes other vocalists as well, and that makes for a more interesting listen.

This is one of the best albums of the decade, and HNIA continue to get better and better, stretching music in all directions at once: country, rock, folk, blues, gospel, and electronica: it's all here on this CD. Why no one is paying attention is beyond me.

HINA has been around for more than five years by now. Compare to other 4AD bands, their sounds resemble Cocteau Twins a lot, this used to be etheral music at its best. Due to recent transformation,the band seems to process a more upbeat and electronic sound,the two divas really have much better voices than the bitchy Celine Dion. The CD carries itself just like a college DJ spinning all kinds of music in the midnight, they are from different decades, but they fit perfectly with each other. they are truly geniuses.

I've been a HNIA fan since I first heard "Home Is In Your Head" almost 10 years ago. The band has produced a truly eclectic catalog of albums, spanning a variety of different styles. This album showcases their more recent direction, which is more band-oriented and relies heavily on Lovetta Pippin's soulful vocals. Unlike the more recent album, this one still includes other vocalists as well, and that makes for a more interesting listen.

His Name is Alive have evolved from a great 4ADish sounding band to something revolutionary. Ft.Lake is without a doubt the best album of 1998. I can't say it's better that Stars on ESP, but it is at least equal. I don't mind the fact that they haven't been "discovered" by the mainstream. I don't want modern rock radio stations to play them. HNIA doesn't deserve that fate.