Livonia [IMPORT]

His Name Is Alive

Product Details

• Audio CD (April 6, 1999)
• Original Release Date: 1990
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: 4ad Records UK
• ASIN: B00000B9FM
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Audio Cassette  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #109,132 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars "I think sometimes, sometimes I think, if only could we...", October 1, 2000

By	Christopher Culver - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

The first true album by His Name is Alive, _Livonia_ was born in the basement of 18 year-old Warren Defever and was based on musical structures he had been composing since he was 15. Although plainly adolescent in style with its evoking of angst, _Livonia_ is a set of sweeping airy songs, which are minimal (due to Defever's lack of anything more than a 4-track recorder) without being minimalist. Each song flows into the next creating a record that is suprisingly coherent and cohesive. It's wonderful...

Words could not accurately express the beauty and wonder of the songs "As We Could Ever" and "You and I Have Seizures," so I have no choice but to suggest that you take my word for it and listen to _Livonia_.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Should be more highly recognized, April 3, 2004

By	brotherbig "brotherbig" (OKC, OK United States) - See all my reviews

This album is about the only music that I have ever heard that in itself is genuinely scary. The sound is bare and understated, but is very emotionally sophisticated, and probably stands as the best introduction to these guys' art. This is not your typical goth cheese, but in its heart, it is so evil, that if you took this disc out into sunlight, it would turn to ashes.
See Brothers Quay- they've used this album extensively.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Best of their first wave., September 29, 1998

By	"shizzam" (Seattle, WA United States) - See all my reviews

People who know the constant changes in sound His Name Is Alive go through tend to view each change as a progression. "Livonia" is their first full length album which showcases their finest acheivements in their early sparse, gothic phase. Though "Home Is In Your Head" gave a few wonderful tracks (out of 23 sound bytes basically,) their structureless song style was never more well recieved than on "Livonia." Particularly, the first track "As We Could Ever" blends a beautiful mesh of sounds and music with a single heavenly voice lulling sometimes nonsensical, sometimes brilliant lyrics. This track also finds it's way creatively into many other HNIA tunes from their later albums (check out the very end of Stars on ESP.)

Though this was not my favorite period for this band, this album does deserve it's honorable mention and attention. Think what you will about 4AD, but who else would've dared take a chance on a group this unconventional, bizarre, and breath-taking?