Poise Is the Greater Architect

Ilya | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (June 17, 2003)
• Original Release Date: November 26, 2002
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Second Nature
• ASIN: B000094Q53
• Also Available in: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #278,751 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Alternative Press

"An alluring mix of trip hop, ambient jazz and electronica, all supported by breathy female vocals."

"Like a never-ceasing drizzle chilling your skin, it’s impossible to ignore the unyielding power behind the tender-but-insistent energy of ILYA

Product Description

Emerging out of the vibrant San Diego underground, ILYA creates languishing and soothing musical textures that tap into the subconscious stream of thought. ILYA's full-length debut for Second Nature Recordings conveys a provocative blend of sounds and styles that are quiet and haunting one moment, a wall of sound and explosive percussion the next. Combining elements of PORTISHEAD, MY BLOODY VALENTINE, THE BLACK HEART PROCESSION and MASSIVE ATTACK, with caressing vocals reminiscent both of BJÖRK’s breathlessness and FIONA APPLE’s poetic beauty, resulting in an elegant tapestry of trip-hop, atmospheric rock, electronica, and ambient jazz.

See all Editorial Reviews

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars ilya confusion, July 3, 2004

By 

lindsay (Canada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Poise Is the Greater Architect (Audio CD)

poise is the greater architect is a beautiful album, but why can you buy it online with "they died for beauty" which is by a completely different band with the same name?
oh well, this album is incredible, so i guess if people are seeking out the other ilya because their song is in a revlon commercial, maybe they'll find this ilya in the process, and they will be all the better for it. such a good album.

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic!, June 19, 2003

By 

Boden Larson (Bozeman, MT United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Poise Is the Greater Architect (Audio CD)

It seems like it should be so easy to describe the music of Ilya - as if some overused genre buzzword should just roll right off the tongue. But are they rock? Triphop? Ambient? Well, yes to all and none of the above. Ilya is one of those rare bands with a unique style that sounds as though it's always been with us. Its progressions are firmly rooted in rock, its natural beats flirt with triphop, and its ambient guitar and keyboard work sets a captivating mood. Then, without pretention, Ilya lyrics speak easily like the blues, and are delivered with heartbreaking conviction by singer Blanca Rojas. I find it difficult to imagine anyone who would not be moved by such powerful work.

Poise is the Greater Architect, Ilya's first full-length, independently produced release strongly demonstrates the band's artful ability. The group molds eerie guitars, dark pianos, gritty synths, melodic bass, and driving drums around hauntingly beautiful female vocals. Heavier songs like Isola and Blatchford provide just enough juice to keep our strength up through devastatingly depressing tracks such as BPD and Guilty Kisses. The album's highlight must be "I want to know", a simple waltzing duet that is so exposed and vulnerable that it creates an excrutiating tension from which we are satisfyingly rescued by the interruption of bowed electric guitar and a small string ensemble. The only weak spot on the record is perhaps Lady Folly, a predictable and generic song during which I always find myself reaching for the skip button. Still, the album is listenable from start to finish - a dark journey through personal tragedy with brilliant moments of joyful release.

A lot of the same band names always seem to be dropped whenever someone is talking about Ilya. If you take Portishead, Bjork, Radiohead and Led Zepplin (yep, you heard me right) and smash them all together real good, then filter out all the excess frill to the bare minimum, you might come up with something similar to Ilya. They've tapped a vein that's been there all along but was perhaps too obvious to see - a simple root that their influences have never fully explored. Ilya is one of those treasures you almost wish you could keep all to yourself, but this band is going to be huge.

I was able to score a copy of this album months ago (prior to the new label release), and it's been in steady rotation in my CD player ever since. Everyone I've played this album for has loved it. It does not disappoint.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Perfection, December 6, 2003

By 

Keith Shelton "Keyboard Player" (Commerce, MI) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Poise Is the Greater Architect (Audio CD)

I was thrown back with the talent Ilya has, the very first time I put this disc in, it gripped me right from the start and I never lost intrest.

This album pretty much picks up where Sneaker Pimps left off on "Becoming X" only its more than that. Ilya adds elements of jazz, lo-fi rock, and trip hop to thier sound. What sets this album apart from most trip hop has to be the piano sections. It's very prominent in all their tracks and in combination with the synths and beats, it sounds like something out of a dream.

On vocals there's the super talented Blanca Rojas which has one of the coolest, smoothest voices I've ever heard. At least the best voice I've heard since Kelli Ali or Kristy Hawkshaw.

The highlight of the album has got to be "Rana" its breakbeat bridge combined with the synth effects and piano has got to be one of the coolest things I've ever heard.

I'm also loving "Blatchford", "Isola" and "I Want to Know" which is a beautiful duet in minor key.

Any fan of Sneaker Pimps, Bjork, Hooverphonic, etc... will LOVE this album and even if your not a huge trip hop fan, check this album out!