Customer Reviews

Looking for Landmarks

5 star:		(7)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

One of the most underrated indie-pop bands of the twenty-first century is probably Two Loons For Tea. Like their self-titled debut, "Looking for Landmarks" is a sultry blend of jazz, pop, trip-hop and smooth guitar, without much of a downside at all.

It certainly says something about the musical quality if it's produced by Tori Amos' former producer Eric Rosse, and has Fiona Apple's drummer Matt Chamberlain. It's a bit more accessable than their smooth debut, starting out with alluring powerpop "Blue Suit," with its sinuous Hammond melodies and catchy hooks.

But with the second song, they lapse into deeper turf, with the swirling title track and the prog-flavored "Dying For Love." After that, it's a tangle of flexible jazz-rock and ethereal ballads. Sometimes the songs are a mix of the two, like in the sultry, panoramic "Prisoner." And at the very end is a hidden track: a slow, atmospheric song, which builds up slowly to a stately prog-jazz beat. Very weird, but also very interesting.

"Looking for Landmarks" is a teeny bit more accessable than its predecessor, with those wicked pop hooks and catchy rhythms. But Two Loons For Tea don't fall prey to the dumbing-down that many bands do. Their music stays complex and multilayered, even when it's catchy -- listen to "Green Limousine's" atmospheric opener, before Two Loons start to rock out.

The two Loons -- that is, the ones that are always there -- are Sarah Scott and Jonathan Kochmer. Scott contributes her sweet vocals and songcraft: "And I was not born for morning,/or abstract love, or silent notes." And Kochmer, as well as being cowriter, also contributes four kinds of guitar, plus bass and string arrangements. But he's not the only one.

The instrumentation is so complicated that it's sometimes hard to sort out, as in the glittering last half of "Dying For Love." It doesn't hurt to have Matt Chamberlain doing some of his most impressive percussion work, backed by Rosse's piano, Hammond and Casion, and Eyvind Kang's exquisite string arrangements. Meshed together, the instrumentation is lush and almost intoxicating.

Few pop bands can reach the heights of Two Loons For Tea, and "Looking For Landmarks" proves that their debut was no fluke. Definitely something to check out, while waiting for their forthcoming third album.

Building on the strengths of their first album, Two Loons For Tea comes back with "Looking For Landmarks". With rich, full instrumentation, catchy melodies and beautiful vocals, the Loons have carefully produced an album equally enhanced by bright freshness and deep soulfulness. Vocalist Sarah Scott and multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Kochmer are joined here by an A-list roster of musicians who've earned their stripes with such acts as Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Macy Gray, Elton John, King Crimson and many more, but the songs are never overshadowed by show-boating. The guests elegantly weave into the musical cloth, building its strength. This is classy album that shuns labeling and is not to be missed. Look for it on many end of the year `best of' lists.

I've been seeing rave reviews of Two Loons for Tea online, and bought "Looking for Landmarks" right away. This exquisite album hasn't left my CD changer since, and I've bought more copies for friends.

First... what genre is it? It's some kind of pop, but touches so broadly and frequently on other genres (rock, ambient, Asian, funk, folk, alternative, jazz, classical, etc.) that it doesn't fit neatly into existing categories. Two Loons somehow melds these influences into one coherent sound. Are they forging a new genre? Eclectipop? Smartpop? Sophistipop?

Every song is a unique gem, but consistently features strong and confident vocal performances by Sarah Scott and superb supporting musical performances by her multi-instrumentalist bandmate Jonathan Kochmer (and the 19 other musicians they rounded up -- the quality and diversity of contributors to Two Loons for Tea is remarkable, ranging from jazz musicians in the NYC Knitting Factory crowd, to Tori Amos' original producer, Eric Rosse).

Here's some brief reviews of each song in an attempt to convey the sprawling beauty of this album:

1. Blue Suit: A peppy power-pop ditty with driving percussion and guitars and a rousing chorus. Great for opening an album, though it's more mainstream than the album as a whole. Distinctly a summer-time song.

2. Looking for Landmarks: Deservedly the title track (and the real beginning of the album) with the relaxed sensuality Two Loons achieves better than most anyone else: consistently transports one elsewhere. Lovely and moving lyrics ("Do you hear the chorus in the canyon / as you spend another evening alone? You must accept / when an ending comes / breathe... just breathe"). Especially nice are the vocal lead-in to the chorus, sparkly acoustic guitar lines throughout (which evoke summer sunlight on a windy lake), and an outro that exhales soft and accepting sighs into silence.

3. Dying for Love: Flamboyant ethnic-flavored guitars and percussion leading to verses with insistent and shoulder-bobbing rhythms, and then a soaring chorus. There are many ethnic influences in this piece (Balkan, Brazilian, and Spanish), and somehow it all works.

4. Blood for Sugar: Wistful and poignant song with world-weary singing and lyrics of bittersweet delicacy ("a tuxedo / a promise / a ceremony, a compromise / she's trading blood for sugar") and choruses with a Phil-Spectorish wall-of-sound luxuriousness. But Two Loons again surprises by veering off into what sounds like Central-Asian bazaar music and again, they make this unlikely juxtaposition work.

5. Sad Diamonds: Simply vocal and guitars and simply one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. Shivers and tingles every time. Although the lavish instrumentation of the rest of "Landmarks" is fabulous, a duo acoustic album from Two Loons would be a special treat.

6. She's Not Worth the Worry: This must be why Two Loons is compared to U2: imagine U2 shucking Bono for a female vocalist and hiring a chamber orchestra: you'd get something very like this song.

7. Shape of Strange: How strange indeed! Suddenly the Two Loons musical mystery bus goes on soul-funk caravan complete with booty-shakin'-bass and rousing gospelesque call-and-response vocals. But Sarah Scott's confident vocals and allusive lyrics stamp it unequivocally as a Two Loons tune.

8. Green Limousine: The only song on the album that flaunts this band's Seattle roots: a brooding dark insistence and explosive soft-verse / loud-chorus structure reminiscent of Seattle alternative (spiked with Floydish doses of prog-rock?). There's so much going on in the chorus that the listener becomes delirious which may be the intended effect given some of the lyrical content ("he's the freeway pharmacist / the cars are waiting in a line / while he read Voltaire / in his wheelchair / edge of the freeway / drive-through heroin / and caviar / the freeway pulses / with the blood of the city"). The soloed vocals at the end are a chilling and perfect lead into:

9. Emily: The album began in summer, and now we're led into a haunted house in the hollowness of winter. Spare and dark music, creepy subliminal sounds, and a supernatural experience in a wide stereo field.

10. The Prisoner: A good song, but maybe a tad long. Great vocals in the soaring chorus and bridge. Still head-and-shoulders above lots on the radio these days.

11. This Mortal Rodeo: The best way to describe this gently enigmatic tune may be "world-wise-sophisti-pop". The string sections could be an imaginary and melancholic Bollywood soundtrack, the guitars and percussion convey wisdom of weary workers in a village square, the horns are a haunting cry from a lovesick mermaid, and the lyrics encourage a thoughtful re-evaluation of the privileged in this world.

12. Emily Dickinson: The album closes with an instrumental version of Track 9 (Emily). One now feels as if one has passed on and gone to a parallel universe floating above the album you have just heard.

And that's a good way to summarize "Looking for Landmarks": it's like the Number-One-Pop-Album in a parallel universe where heart, soul, beauty and mind matter more than image or trends. This is a truly unique and possibly timeless album.

I am a sucker for quirky voices, and Sarah Scott definitely has one--expressive, at times sultry, at times girlish, and even reminiscent of Rickie Lee Jones--but the music made by Jonathan Kochmer is anything but: jazzy, yes, but also weird, occasionally clubbish, and always evocative. You'll find that certain songs--the opening track for one--leap right out and grab you; others are more subtle, revealing their charms over multiple listens. I've had all three of their albums on heavy rotation during my long commutes and after a month, I am still not tired of them--there is something for my changing moods, from melancholy and nostalgic to uplifting or even challenging, I would love to see what they'd do live! This is a group I will turn to over and over, and I look forward to their future ventures. (P.S. I adore Matt Chamberlain's drumming--you know him from Tori Amos' work--and his distinctive style is prominent here.)

I'm very surprised that Two Loons For Tea is not more well known. They are amazing. Looking For Landmarks mixes so many genres (Jazz, Pop, and Folk to name just a few), but the album never feels too crowded with different styles and the change between them is never jarring. The whole album flows with such an amazing energy that is missing from most mainstream music. Sarah Scott has an amazing voice that can be warm, sultry, and etheral all at once. The whole mood of the album is fantastic and I would suggest that anyone give this album a listen, it is simply awesome.

I had never heard Two Loons for Tea prior to this album but was instantly drawn in. Interesting soundscapes well-supported by gripping lyrics and a tremendously versatile voice, this album pushes musical boundaries while keeping you interested. Sarah Scott's vocals are a perfect mix of style and emotion, breathing life into some very potent lyrics. There's also a lot of instruments at work here played by several talented musicians, but they are blended together so well that they avoid being cacophonous. I really enjoyed the entirety of this album, especially how it develops, going from the catchy Blue Suit, to the soothing title track, percussive and exotic Dying Love all the way to the almost jazzy Shape of Strange and melancholy yet redemptive Emily Dickinson. There's really something here for everyone.

Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. It seems to me that there are two ways of loving Two Loons for Tea. The first way is the simplest. You are a sucker for the beautiful voice of a beautiful woman. So you play "Sad Diamonds." And while you listen to the beautiful Sarah Scott, the unaggressive fullness of Two Loons' sound sneaks up and slowly cocoons you.

Or maybe you love Two Loons for their genre-fusing genius. This love starts the same way, simply enough, with Sarah Scott's voice. Doesn't she sound, 1 minute and 41 seconds into track 8, exactly like Joan Armatrading? But Sarah Scott's voice has many sounds, from Tori Amos to Norah Jones to Nelly Furtado to Macy Gray, and your list soon grows too full. So you turn to the music, but this list is no shorter. The melody of "Blood for Sugar" sounds like a delightfully relaxed Paul Simon. Portions of the "Shape of Strange" remind you of Me'Shell NdegeOcello. You begin to understand that Two Loons is trip-hop and pop and jazz and rock and electronica, and even folk and funk, on occasion. You begin to understand that this is one of the most sophisticated, pleasurable, and entirely fresh albums you've had the fortune to hear in a long time.