Time and the Maiden

Claire Voyant | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 30, 2001)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Metropolis Records
• ASIN: B000055ZDQ
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #302,998 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Chris Ross (programming) and Ben Fargen (guitar), Claire Voyant's founding duo, first met at an early age, since then creating a serious creative understanding. Having bands like the Cure or Cocteau Twins as main influences, the two-team unveiled their musical preferences on delicate pop style selections added by enchanting streamlined drawings. However, Voyant's melodies were not complete until the later addition of Victoria Lloyd, who provided a substantive balance to the group's compositions. In 1995, they recorded their first disc, Claire Voyant, eventually reissued two years later by German label Hyperium, hence capitalizing the trio's considerable following. Time and the Maiden showed up as their second full-length in 1998, conferring the group an even more solid standing, emphasized by 2000's Time Again, an album with remixes by artists such as Front 242 or Covenant. They signed a recording contract with Accession Records a year later. ~ Mario Mesquita Borges, Rovi

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Victoria, would you sing at my funeral? (Sometime later on), January 17, 2002

By 

Scott Sweet "Music Freak" (Colorado Springs, CO) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Time and the Maiden (Audio CD)

The soundscape on "Time and the Maiden" is a distillation of Cocteau Twins, The Shroud, Lycia and Skinner Box-era Julianna Towns. The whole thing goes down smoother than 30-year-old brandy.

Benjamin Fargen's guitar gently floats in a sea of reverb, while Chris Ross gives us just enough synth drums to keep time. Hazy keyboard melodies hold the middle ground between the other instruments and Victoria Lloyd's voice. No, not voice - Voice. How the hell does she sound so world-weary and so yearning at the same time? Practice, I guess.

All the songs are elegant mood pop. Great slow-dance music for ghosts. The trip-hop beats keep "Maiden" from getting too ethereal. Lloyd's lyrics focus on love and what a drag it is to be mortal. Since the songs have a consistent sound, it's hard to list "standouts."

The influences behind Claire Voyant's style jump out at you from song to song. This stuff is two parts ethereal, one part alpha state, one part heartache. Very soothing, slightly haunting.

A sidenote: if you wanna hear a remix of track five ("Majesty") that's even better than the album version, order "Fairies, Elves & Angels Vol. I" through this site.

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars a soaring voice, September 24, 2001

By 

Summer B. Frace (Austin, TX USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Time and the Maiden (Audio CD)

The first thing that strikes you about Claire Voyant's music is Victoria Lloyd's soaring voice. She is incredible. Strong and soaring with an impressive range, Lloyd really makes this CD shine with her emotional delivery. The music is thoughtful and almost ethereal, without being boring. The underlying music features mostly synths and some light guitars (nothing cruncy or heavy here). The drums are epic but not to heavy or loopy or dancy (which I think is a good thing - too many artists these days are getting caught up in making things dancy at the cost of being unoriginal.

I have a really hard time trying to pinpoint Claire Voyant's music or fit it within one distinct genre, or even try to compare them to someone else. They are original and creating their own thing. I know this probably won't help you in deciding if you want to give them a try. If you like the Hyperium Heavenly Voices compilations (their prominent placement on Volume IV really helped Claire Voyant gain a number of new fans) then you will likely enjoy this release. Victoria Lloyd definitely has a heavenly voice.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars amazing, October 2, 2001

By 

Eddie L Sikes Jr (Aurora, Colorado United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Time and the Maiden (Audio CD)

if you buy soundtracks to get that perfect orchestrated sound with incredible vocals you no longer need to do that. This is one hauntingly beautiful CD that will touch your core. Perfect for the goth enthusiast