Sunday, January 11, 2009

Festival


With harmonies that make it sound as if their voices are one, sisters Lindsay and Alexis Powell enchant listeners and take them to another time and place—one where women with long dresses and men with long hair ventured into the forest midday to dance hand in hand among the smell of fresh air and the feeling of freedom.

Sleigh bells, hand clapping, tribal drums, a creaky piano and the folk music must-have acoustic guitar, accompany the Brooklyn based duos’ hard to miss ethereal voices on their debut album Come, Arrow, Come! Psychedelic at times, songs like “Even in the Light” and “Return” resemble the Godmother of Freak Folk herself, Vashti Bunyan. On the other hand, the songs “Fair and True” and “Valentine” seem to have been penned for a different, more pop-oriented crowd.

Festival touches on music styles that, for the most part, have stayed in the past but gives them a modern, acceptable-for-twenty-first-century-listeners feel. The juxtaposition of songs adds to an indefinable quality that the CD, when listened to in order, has. Celtic ritualistic chants are placed next to hand bell infused drones and a drum machine layered song follows a sweet pop melody. The two voices that come out and entwine so perfectly together, unify every single song.

Completing different from mainstream pop or rock ‘n’ roll, Festival’s new album keeps you “coming” back for more.

Final Score: 8.5/10

Download Worthy Tracks:

1. “Blown Light”

2. “Fair and True”

3. “Zebulon”

4. “Return”

5. “Valentine”

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Dream - Priscilla Ahn


To be honest, I hadn't heard of Priscilla Ahn until just a week ago.  This was actually the song that got me hooked.  Apparently it's been used in a few TV shows, namely Grey's Anatomy.  I don't watch Grey's Anatomy but for those who do, here is the singer behind the song.

There's a fine line between angelic and wimpy.  Priscilla Ahn manages to resonate beautifully and powerfully at the same time.  Though her instrumentation is nowhere near original, she excels with her vocal talent and songwriting skills.  Dream evokes memories of innocent, childish happiness, and Ahn masterfully uses her voice to reflect the nostalgic attitude.  Even the melody is longing and wishful.  Perhaps the impressive thing about Priscilla is her ability to arouse emotion in her music.  Something that is so lacking in today's music.

Equally impressive, if not more so, is the live version which can be found here.