Customer Reviews

Teignmouth

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

 

 

Any band that takes its name from a Fassbinder film runs the risk of being called pretentious, but when you make music as beautiful as LICTD, you can get away with it. This 1991 disc was their debut, and boy, did it make an impact. The dreamy female vocals (shades of Dead Can Dance's Lisa Gerrard) are probably the most ear-catching thing about LICTD, but the originality really comes in in the musical composition--a big, sweeping electronic symphony that perfectly complements the vocals while avoiding the temptation to prettify. There are some harsh sounds that make it into the mix, and this is definitely not going to appeal to the world-music crowd the way Dead Can Dance do, but lovers of ethereal vocals and industrial music alike will find something to enjoy here. Picture it this way: it's the music you might hear in a cathedral--if the cathedral had a Korg keyboard and a drum machine instead of just an organ.

Teignmouth was the first LiCTD CD that I listened to, after having been exposed to the dancefloor favorite "For One Ludwig F." numerous times in goth-industrial clubs. I find it rather hard to simply describe LiCTD as having a "4AD" (Dead Can Dance) or "Projekt" sound, but prefer to classify LiCTD, including their first album (Teignmouth), as being a classic or seminal example of ethereal / heavenly voices "darkwave" music. Granted, LiCTD has changed much since they first started in 1990, however fans of ethereal or ghostly female lead vocals will probably really enjoy Susan's vocals on "Tired to Death", "Very Ill", "Structure" (which they are still performing at their live shows), "Town E.", and "Questo Mostrarsi".

Personally, I'm more fond of tracks which feature both Ralf's (male) and Susan's (female) vocals such as "Island", "For One Ludwig F.", "Abiata", and "Wild World". On that note, the mix of vocals on "Wild World" reminds me more of the direction LiCTD has taken with Eclipse and its live shows, where Susan's vocals are being used to complement Ralf's lead.

At home I listen to Teignmouth both in its entirety (meaning I've never dreamed about skipping tracks) or where I've ripped a few of the tracks to mp3 so that I can enjoy them while jogging or hiking. Overall, Teignmouth has a rather carefree or lofty attitude that lends itself to being an excellent source of music for traveling and exploring new places.

It should be pointed out that the term "Heavenly Voices", which is what this genre of music is frequently referred to as in Europe, dates back in part to Hyperium Record's "Heavenly Voices" early 1990s compilation, which naturally featured LiCTD work from Teignmouth. Even though LiCTD has matured and done so well in my opinion, their early work is still something I highly recommend. Interestingly enough, I even think fans of electronic / industrial music will find this album a treasured addition to their collection, as the album features more electronics / keyboards than their current work.

Finally, for those of you that already enjoy LiCTD, I also think you should check out Germany's Das Zeichen and France's Collection D'Arnell-Andrea.

From the start, LICD's first album is an ethereal, entrancing series of soul-moving episodes. The female vocalist is extremely talented and can easily slip me into a mild trance. The music also compliments the style that she puts forth.

But once you get to "For One Ludwig F.", the male vocals begin to take on more prominence until the last track when she finally takes the reigns away from him. If you're into gothic music, you'll more than likely enjoy the male vocalist, but to me he sounds less than impressive (to put it nicely). But more importantly, he doesn't fit with what's come before on the album. It's like having a split EP with two bands on it. It literally feels like another band took the stage. Until "Exit Out", you'll probably be as confused as I was.

Overall, this is a really good album, but it's poorly conceptualized. For a more compelling look into the same genre of music that has most people lined up here, check out "Forever" by the Cranes.

Actually three and a half stars...

At first listen, this album didn't do much for me, but with subsequent plays it's spell has begun to take affect, and it's subtleties have begun to reveal themselves. Susann Heinrich has a lovely voice, (without which where would LICTD be?) I feel that many of the tracks here are crying out for a better production with a lusher sound, and needed a keener ear to focus in on and bring out the beauty in her vocals.

I am reminded of early Dead Can Dance by the feel of some tracks, including Tired To Death, From The Fog, and the pulsing Very Ill. Wild World, sidling away to the dance-floor, is hypnotically momentous in a quaint sort of way, with the tentative English vocals, and is the clear favourite for me amongst the handful of male lead vocal tracks. Some tracks veer more into the industrial realm of bands like Front 242 and Laibach.

I wish that I was there when it was new, rather than visiting it years after the event, and out of context. I think that if I had chanced upon this album back then, I'd have been very intrigued, and anxious to see how the band evolved.

There are some stunning moments, such as the brief but majestic Structure, but sadly I feel elsewhere, at times, they flounder, with good ideas only partly realised, and left in a slightly pedestrian state, which is a shame.

I agree with the other reviewers about the "scary" voiced male singing later in the album. I think that someone should have taken the poor fellow aside and had a quiet word in his ear. Chorn, for example, does nothing whatsoever to enhance the album, it comes across as repulsive, and very silly.

Oxeia is a finer LICTD album for those drawn by the beauty to be found in this genre of music, rather than by a fixation upon the macabre, and I recommend it above this one, though that isn't to denegrate this one, the two have a quite different feel from one another. I find myself wondering what became of Susann, did she go on to work with other bands?.

"Metropolis has done it again!" which is what I would have said after I heard Teignmouth, but it is L.I.C.T.D. that makes Metropolis what it is. When I recently heard about Teignmouth, I had heard the sounds bites from the album, and liked the new wave sort of beats,in "Wild World",which had me order the cd. When I first heard the rest of the album (the first half of the album) it is ambiance with flowing trance-like female vocals, that are intoxicating, with a beautiful waltz-like fantasy in "Structure". There are male vocals that are introduced towards the middle of the album, which does not take anything away from the cd's atmosphere. There are a few dance-like songs,( if you are brave enough to dance to them) but overall Teignmouth is an essential album in any darklings collection. A must have for darkwave and ambiance fans!!

Love Is Colder Than Death sound like a no frills Dead Can Dance. And that's not meant to be a put down. They use much less instrumentation that DCD...a synth or two, and some percussion.

Like Dead Can Dance, their music is beautiful and eerie and sad all at once.
Questro Mostrarsi features some of the most hauntingly beautiful vocals I've heard. There are also some dance songs on this cd as well. Songs like Island, Sex And Horror, and Wild World have irresistable beats...though I find the scratchy attempting-to-be-scary voice on Sex And Horror a bit annoying.

Those of you who like darkwave ethereal ambient goth or whatever you want to call it, may very well like Teignmouth by Love Is Colder Than Death.

love is colder than death's darkwave ethereal music is beautiful and utterly unique. It takes you to another dimension, one of dark bliss and heavenly night.