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10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intriguing and Beautiful, May 4, 2009
This CD opens with 3 songs steeped in world weariness. The lyrics of the first song, Palmistry state: "You can see by the lines on my hand, I've been carryin a heavy load." The simple repeated lyrics of "Everything is Moving so Fast" follow the same theme. Similarly, my favorite song on this CD is "Pulling on a Line.", with the chorus. "pullin on a line, pullin on a line and sometimes it pulls on me."
This is a CD that features stunningly beauiful vocal harmonies throughout, based on what band's website aptly describes as "the singular voice of (lead singer) Tony Dekker, a voice that summons ghosts from times past. (and) It's a voice that is capable of conveying heartache and comfort all in the space of a single phrase." The vocals in "Everything is Moving so Fast" and "River's End" are especially beautiful. The vocals are reminiscent of folk-style Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young songs such as "Teach Your Children".
Listening to the songs in order the additional themes are estrangement (Concrete Heart) and separation (She Comes to Me in Dreams). This is followed by unexpected sources of hope and beauty such as "The Chorus in the Underground" and the simple bells of "Singer Castle Bells". Further songs such as "New Light" and the last song: "Unison Falling into Harmony" convey a sense of hope and peacefullness though still suffused with sadness.
I continue to be intrigued by the lyrics and drawn in by the beautiful music after repeated listens.
I commented on my own review to give links to a great CBC News interview and album review and also to the band's website where you can listen to full tracks of several of the songs. Enjoy.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Intriguing and Beautiful, May 4, 2009
This CD opens with 3 songs steeped in world weariness. The lyrics of the first song, Palmistry state: "You can see by the lines on my hand, I've been carryin a heavy load." The simple repeated lyrics of "Everything is Moving so Fast" follow the same theme. Similarly, my favorite song on this CD is "Pulling on a Line.", with the chorus. "pullin on a line, pullin on a line and sometimes it pulls on me."
This is a CD that features stunningly beauiful vocal harmonies throughout, based on what band's website aptly describes as "the singular voice of (lead singer) Tony Dekker, a voice that summons ghosts from times past. (and) It's a voice that is capable of conveying heartache and comfort all in the space of a single phrase." The vocals in "Everything is Moving so Fast" and "River's End" are especially beautiful. The vocals are reminiscent of folk-style Crosby, Stills, Nash and Young songs such as "Teach Your Children".
Listening to the songs in order the additional themes are estrangement (Concrete Heart) and separation (She Comes to Me in Dreams). This is followed by unexpected sources of hope and beauty such as "The Chorus in the Underground" and the simple bells of "Singer Castle Bells". Further songs such as "New Light" and the last song: "Unison Falling into Harmony" convey a sense of hope and peacefullness though still suffused with sadness.
I continue to be intrigued by the lyrics and drawn in by the beautiful music after repeated listens.
I commented on my own review to give links to a great CBC News interview and album review and also to the band's website where you can listen to full tracks of several of the songs. Enjoy.
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
I still like the softer sound more, October 8, 2009
Recorded along the Thousand Islands bordering Canada and the US, this sounds like a riparian pastoral suite. Tony Dekker leads this hushed band, amping up to current Wilco or mid-period REM volume on the first three and the fifth songs. These don't display the power of Dekker's soft quaver as much as their standard repertoire of quieter, slower, melancholy tunes.
Dekker and band understandably wanted to shake up their sound on this fourth record. The songs that are louder, however, seem nondescript next to ones such as "Concrete Heart" which despite the lyric sheet that makes the words look nearly indecipherable in size and color, still stick with you in simple poetry. The album sinks in as it progresses, and the later songs return to the earlier albums such as "Ongiara" and "Bodies and Minds" with a chamber-folk setting that adds depth subtly. GLS has progressed as the band coalesced to flesh out the low-fi, skeletal, haunting sound of the self-titled debut, and despite the added fullness here on #4, I still prefer the more burrowed, hibernating feel of the softer songs that wrap you under layers.
This is not a record to blast. It's suited for introspection, rain, and waking up or settling down. We all need such music however raucous other CDs on our shelves speak to other moods. It took me a while to get used to Dekker's resolutely steady pace of singing and playing, but this will comfort those in the mood for music that makes you turn inward. How he and his band manage to do this without seeming pitiful or self-absorbed is a difficult quality to explain, but I think more often than not, this record succeeds in separating the fine line on the right side, between twee and depth, pose and insight.
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