Manic Expressive

Her Space Holiday | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (November 6, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Tiger Style
• ASIN: B00005R8HI
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  Vinyl  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #323,040 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

It might not be quite as good a title as Her Space Holiday's debut, the fraught Home Is Where You Hang Yourself, but Manic Expressive--the second full-lengther from Marc Bianchi's opium-for-the-ears solo project--finds this slow-core crooner expanding his experimental brief without losing the very tender heart that beats at the center of the Her Space Holiday design. Pieced together on electronic organ and soaring computer sequencer, and carried by what sounds like an orchestra of heavenly strings (all, of course, issuing from a groaning hard drive) this is far from a conventional slow-core album, and the furthest step that Bianchi's taken from his roots in the Californian hardcore act Mohinder. The sweet, electronic "Hassle Free Harmony," for instance, recalls the twinkly psychedelia of the Beatles' "Dear Prudence," but despite this re-creation of familiar reference points, Bianchi's sonic adventurousness on tracks such as "The Ringing in My Ears" and the spaced, glitchy "Lydia"--where he duets beautifully with girlfriend Keely--supply ample proof that Her Space Holiday possess a sound that's all their own. --Louis Pattison

Product Description

2001 album for U.S. indie act, described as a frequently lush expansion of their DIY sound. Nine tracks including, 'The Ringing In My Ears', 'Polar Opposite' & 'Hassle Free Harmony'. --This text refers to an alternate Audio CD edition.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars wow....wow., December 8, 2001

By 

S. "mediaddict" (Jamaica Plain, Morocco) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Manic Expressive (Audio CD)

This has really moved out of the realms of slow-core and into uncharted waters of achingly beautiful experimental pop. At times it recalls the slowest and most introspective moments of an Eels disc., or perhaps if you gave the To Rococo Rot & I-Sound collaborations a vocalist and forced them into a pop-song structure, they might make music like this.

It's a remarkably cohesive album, and all of the experimental elements mesh into the song structures rather than standing out in opposition. The digital drumlines are glitchy in a good way, with skitterish snares on "the ringing in my ears" (my favorite track), or the sound of button presses and rewinding tape serving as the rhythm section of another track. While the string lines and the bass carry most of the melody, the organ adds a bit of a warm, fuzzy feel to even the most digital of songs. A mixture of his vocals, his girlfriend vocals, and some recorded dialogue keep the vocals fresh, although they really seem to serve as another insturment rather than the "focus" of the songs.

The presence of 'intro' and 'outro' songs suggest that this album is meant to be digested as a whole, and I definetly agree. If I had to pick standout tracks, however, i'd suggest 'the ringing in my ears' 'polar opposite' and 'hassle free harmony'. It's probably not coincidence that these are the most "traditional" songs on the disc, but they make the strongest impression for me.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Original hybrid, November 6, 2002

By 

J. Persh (West Bloomfield, MI United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Manic Expressive (Audio CD)

This record represents a collision of a hybrid of blips and beeps with a melancholic vocal angle. You don't expect to hear the two in unison sounding so fresh and relevant. The dichotomy is that you would expect this music to come off as cold and distant instead of warm and inviting. Naysayers whom claim electronic music has no soul should take notice, because this record has it.

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Muted Pastels, January 22, 2002

By 

WrtnWrd "Hankman" (Northridge, CA USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Manic Expressive (Audio CD)

There are a lot of melancholy boys with access to computer technology writing depressive near ambient symphonies to their own isolation. Marc Bianchi, recording as Her Space Holiday, is one of the good ones. On his second release, Manic Expressive, he stops navel-gazing long enough to mix it up in the real world. Of course, he does it quietly - his electronic palette is full of muted pastels, whispers - he's coming to your dinner party, not the New Year's Eve celebration in Times Square. But he's absorbed and processed a number of wide-ranging influences in his bedsit: Philip Glass, Can, Vivaldi, Belle and Sebastian, Kraftwerk, Bach. To my taste, more interesting as ambient than Aphex Twin or any number of faceless trance remixers.