Customer Reviews

Walk Softly, A Dream Lies Here

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

 

 

"Walk Softly,..." has a broader, fuller sound than the prior album ("Light and Shade") with echoes of Strange Boutique. Dru Allen's vocals are more operatic. The keyboard and guitar fill more of the open space than before.

This time, the rock muscle meshes with a dream-pop sound. Several songs have a mid-tempo swing beat (think Depeche Mode's "I Feel You" or "Blue Dress"). "Blue Cyberia" is a fast rocker that foreshadows the power of the next release, "Sever." Track eight ("Sleep") has a breezy, Angelo Badalamenti charm.

This Ascension came into their own on this one, and laid the groundwork for the more rock-intensive, radio-friendly CD that followed. No goth collection is complete without at least a couple of This Ascension CDs. At the same time, no indie library can do without it. It's not a huge chasm, but this band straddles it well.

Tip of the week: get the re-release being sold on this site. I've got the original, and it has a bunch of stencil-cut panels that just about drove me insane trying to get 'em arranged how they were when the CD was still wrapped. I seek only to spare you good people similar anguish.

I am shocked by the lack of reviews for this cd, as well as for other early This Ascension albums. (By "early," I mean prior to the release of "Sever.") This is some excellent, compelling and enchanting music! I admit to being a sucker for "otherworldly" music, the kind that envelops you and "takes you away somewhere." This is that kind of music.
Dru Allen has one of the most beautiful and powerful voices I have ever heard, and the music accompanies it perfectly. I would have rated this CD as four and a half stars, were that option available...the only reason I didn't give five stars being the significant growth which is evident with "Sever," the most recent release by This Ascension. Having said that, "Walk Softly, A Dream Lies Here" is still most definitely worth the money. Purchase it in addition to "Sever." Both are great!

Walk Softly, a Dream Lies Here is easily one of my favorite 5 albums of all time. It is a masterpiece of a musical achievement, enchanting, beautiful, and haunting. Although This Ascension were known as a "goth" band, lumped in with other '90s Darkwave era bands, I feel that they had a lot more depth and power than other bands of those ilk. It's a shame that This Ascension received such little recognition for such an astounding musical creation. This album is breathtaking in every respect.