To Where You Are

The High Violets | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Audio CD (January 31, 2006)
• Original Release Date: 2006
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Reverb Records
• ASIN: B000E0OFF2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #184,315 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars wears it influences on its record sleeve..., March 19, 2007

By 

M. Lohrke (Saratoga Springs, UT) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Where You Are (Audio CD)

...and in this case its not a bad thing.

too many folks have tried and failed to revive the shoegaze movement, and while i don't think for one second high violets are trying to revive shoegazing, 'to where you are' certainly takes the best of what shoegazing had to offer without ever sacrficing melody and vocal clarity in favor of atmosphere. kaitlyn ni donovan is a great vocalist, by the way. she's liz frazier without the effects, harriet wheeler turned down an octave. the band, too, are great. they seemed to have mastered the pop/rock song the same way andy chase and adam schlesinger from ivy have. they are supreme craftsmen and woman.

the album starts off with a couple of shoegazy songs straight out of 1992. 'sun baby' and 'love is blinding' smack of lush more than anyone else, but are on the whole much stronger songs than lush ever created (and i love lush). 'chinese letter' might be my favorite song on the album. it's a glorious song that might not have been out of place on the cocteau twins 'heaven or las vegas.' 'invitation' sounds like something off the sundays 'static and silence. the first curve ball comes in 'cool green,' a bundle of dancy energy complete with sleighbells at the halfway point, that while it doesn't necessarily 'fit' in with the rest of the album, is still such a joy to listen to that you're so glad it's there. it's also the most straightforward song on the album in terms of production.

having said all that however, the high violets don't sound derivitive of any of the bands mentioned. it's a solid, atmopheric, pleasant and oft-exhilirating album by a band i hope we hear a lot more from. if you visit their website [...] you can download 'sun baby,' 'love is blinding' and 'cool green.' once you've heard those songs i'm sure you'll rush out and buy the album just like i did.

4 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THIS HIGH VIOLETS ALBUM IS OUTSTANDING, February 14, 2006

By 

PETE SKAGGS "PETE SKAGGS" (CRYSTAL LAKE, IL) - See all my reviews

This review is from: To Where You Are (Audio CD)

First of all if you do not own this CD (as well as the High Violets first record----the amazing 44 Down)---pick it up ASAP. The opening track "Sunbaby" is what guitar rock should be---JUST PURE POWER. "Love is Blinding" & "X-Tasy" are two stand out tracks that beg to be turned up. An absolute HOME RUN!!!!!!!!

3.0 out of 5 stars 3 1/2 stars What a sound! Shimmers, jangles, and roars., December 25, 2007

By 

Eric J. Anderson (Ankeny, Iowa) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: To Where You Are (Audio CD)

I heard the first four songs from To Where You Are on the internet, and bought the CD hoping the rest of the album would live up to that fine start. This is guitar-based rock. Jangly guitars, roaring fuzzed-out guitars, a synth added for a little texture, soaring solo guitar notes. Nothing virtuoso or flashy here -- it's all for moody effect, bathed in a full reverberent soundstage. Through it all, Kaitlyn Ni Donovan's pure smooth voice focuses the songs. Her diction is a little soft, and that tends to obscure the lyrics (not to the absurd level of Cocteau Twins), but I don't care. Her harmonies make Chinese Letters letters one of the prettiest and ethereal songs I heard all year.

I was not quite as pleased with the second half of the album. The melodies and arrangements didn't strike me as addictively as those first four.

I'm still glad I bought the album to encourage this band to keep refining their music. I can't think of any way they could improve the basic sound of their records. It envelopes and engages you, daring you not to listen. I could hope for more development in the lyrics, or maybe just better enunciation. And keep writing great simple melodies and harmonies. Much of this record is top-class and deserves a wider hearing.

There aren't too many bands to which I could compare the sound of the High Violets. It is vaguely similar to some of the early work of Ivy, but sonically it is a little heavier and full-bodied than that. And yet, the High Violets is clearly "girl rock" with its pretty voices and melodies and sentiments. Long may they wave.