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Label: The Laser's Edge
Tracks:
- Snowfall - 6:30
- Lord Of Night - 7:13
- Song - 2:03
- Ingenting - 3:14
- The Withering Of The Boughs - 7:16
- Lines On An Autumnal Evening - 4:52
- Now In These Fairy Lands - 5:28
- Piletreet - 1:47
- Till He Arrives - 3:30
- Cryptomenysis - 11:37
- Signs - 2:04
- John Dee's Lament - 11:00
Musicians:
- Jan Tariq Rahman, keyboards, recorders, crumhorn, kantele, sitar, bass
dals, bass, vocals, devices
- Tirill Mohn, violins, classical guitar
- Audun Kjus, flutes, whistles, pipes, bodhran, vocals
- Sara Trondeal, vocals
- Eldrid Johansen, vocals
- Jacob C. Holm-Lupo, guitars
- Alexander Engebretsen, bass
- The Drummer, drums and percussion
- With many guest musicians that contribute with drums, bass, cellos,
rings, guitars and tenors.
The first disc of this great Norwegian group of distinctive sound, that
mix the progressive Swedish rock of the 90's with folk, pastoral music,
Gothic and dark environments and a light medieval touch.
The influences could be, among others, Landberk, Anglagard, King Crimson,
Fairport Convention, PFM, Joni Mitchell, Nick Drake, Gryphon, Trespass's
Genesis, the most pastoral Jade Warrior, Dead Can Dance or Antonius Rex.
The whole album is acoustic and atmospheric, very calm and quiet, without
practically explosions of power, being this group one of the most soft and
relaxed of the current progressive. White Willow combines perfectly electric
with acoustic music, all this led by the vocal melodies of the angelical voice
of Sara Trondeal and Eldrid Johansen.
The best thing would be in both tracks of 11 minutes "Cryptomenysis" and "John
Dee's Lament", magistral and full of emotion, combining contained anger,
Gothic darkness, beauty and sensibility. Also "Lord of Night" is another
impressive track, with passages of some force, mellotrones and a great
keyboard solo. "Snowfall" is a precious track with sweet vocal melodies.
"The Withering Of The Boughs" is a very soft track with atmospheres of
mellotron, but that eventually rises to a very Celtic and symphonic fragment.
Among others, tracks of pure folk, others more pastoral and
acoustic with beautiful flutes as "Ingenting", "Till he Arrives", "Signs or Lines
On An Autumnal Evening", with exquisite female choirs like in "Piletreet", or
more electrical and rhythmic as the melodic "Now In These Fairy Lands".
In short, an album of spectacular beauty and sensibility. A must.
Rating: 9/10
Ferran Lizana
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