Music in Mouth [Import]

Bell X1 | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 28, 2004)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Island UK
• ASIN: B0002AYUYA
• Also Available in: Audio CD  |  MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #84,054 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

'Music In Mouth' is the 2003 album from Dublin-based quartet Bell X1. The band are Paul Noonan, Brian Crosby, David Geraghty & Dominic Phillips, who have made music together in many guises since the early 90s. The album was recorded over the course of 2002 in a series of locations from Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey & The Fallout Shelter in London, to various houses in Dublin, Kilkenny & London. 'Music In Mouth' was recorded by Jamie Cullum (Tom McRae, Perry Blake). Notable guests on the record include Olli Kraus (Beth Orton) on cello & Margaret White (Sparklehorse) on vocals & violin. This reissue includes one bonus track, the Irish indie act's hit 2004 single version of 'Eve, The Apple Of My Eye'. Virgin. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Superb, May 24, 2005

By 

LazyEye (ireland) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Music in Mouth (Audio CD)

This is a strange sort of album. On first listen, I certainly wasn't unimpressed, but I can't say that it lived up to the enthusiastic recommendations that it gained from a few of my friends. On a further few listens, however, it grew on me. And it kept on growing. It is truly a superb album. Any newcomer to Bell X1 is likely to have been introduced to them through their minor hit, "Eve, the Apple of My Eye". So you will surely already be aware of the potential of the band (It's worth noting that the album version of that song is quite noticeably better than the single version). And I can promise you that "Music in Mouth" more than lives up to the promise of that song.

In a similar style to "Eve", the songs "I'll See Your Heart and I'll Raise You Mine" and "In Every Sunflower" bring a depth of emotion to the album that is rare amongst their contemporaries - particularly bands, as opposed to singer-songwriters. It's a difficult thing to pinpoint, but if anyone has seen Bell X1 live, it's pretty clear. The songs are genuine. They are tender, personal and vulnerable, but at the same time powerful. It's refreshing to see this, let's face it, exhausted commercial formula applied naturally (or, in another word, correctly) - for once.

But it's not just an album of soft ballads. In "Alphabet Soup" and "Snakes and Snakes", the band display a quirkyness, an intelligence, a personality and undeniably an ability to write catchy, upbeat - verging on rock n' roll - songs. True, there is the occasional track that doesn't quite meet the standards of the rest ("Daybreak", for example, seems a bit tame sandwiched between "Snakes" and "Eve"), but that takes little away from the album as a whole. Listen to each song on its own. Listen to the album as a whole. But most importantly, listen to it again. And again. It grew on me. It's still growing on me. Personally, I think it's the best album from anywhere in years. I don't know how it hasn't made a bigger splash, but don't let that put you off. You won't be disappointed.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Music In Mouth, April 1, 2006

By 

lamposts - See all my reviews

This review is from: Music in Mouth (Audio CD)

Music In Mouth' is the new album from Dublin-based quartet Bell X1. The band are Paul Noonan, Brian Crosby, David Geraghty and Dominic Phillips, who have made music together in many guises since the early 90s. The album was recorded over the course of 2002 in a series of locations from Ridge Farm Studios in Surrey and The Fallout Shelter in London, to various houses in Dublin, Kilkenny and London. 'Music In Mouth' was recorded by Jamie Cullum (Tom McRae, Perry Blake). Notable guests on the record include Olli Kraus (Beth Orton) on cello and Margaret White (Sparklehorse) on vocals and violin.

While they're not overly keen to blow their own collective trumpet it is certainly true that repeated playing of `Music In Mouth' reveals its depths. Whether that's in the ingenious central idea of opening track 'Snakes And Snakes' (there are no ladders), or the equally satisfying picture that I'll see 'Your Heart' and 'Raise You Mine' conjures; whether it's the way the banjo sounds like an eastern instrument in 'Alphabet Soup', the simple elegiac qualities and atmosphere of 'Bound For Boston Hill', or the neo-folk jug band eroticism and exuberance in 'West Of Her Spine', these are songs that stick around and make their presence welcome. Put simply, 'Music In Mouth' should show the world that Bell X1 are a band that have something for everyone. Includes the single 'White Water Song'.

'And so the Irish invasion picks up pace, as Kildare's Bell X1 spring from the traps. More robust than the Thrills, closer to the finished article than the Basement, Bell X1 have been four years honing their sound. This is rock with gusto and drive and confidence and intent, Radiohead as Radiohead should sound now. It puts down a brave marker' - NME

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A must have CD, July 9, 2004

By 

Erin (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Music in Mouth (Audio CD)

Bell X1 is one of those bands that is enormously popular in Ireland and little known here in the States. I like it that way because this band is a genuine gem and I would hate to not be able to see their shows and have them get too popular! But I see their star rising daily! They are in my top 5 of favorite bands and their lyrics are amazingly sensitive and tangible. Favorite songs on this album are Tongue, Eve, and Next to You.