From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V14 #104 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Friday, April 17 2009 Volume 14 : Number 104 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- Bat For Lashes - Two Suns [Jon Wesley Huff ] Re: heather nova (was RE: Throwing Muses, 50ft Wave, Screaming Females concert was good) [Gregory Bossert ] lisa ekdahl news [=?iso-8859-1?Q?anna_maria_stj=E4rnell?= Subject: Bat For Lashes - Two Suns I'm so surprised there hasn't been more talk of this album on here. I have to say the first time I heard Fur and Gold I was hooked. I mean mentally I just went there. She grabbed me and pulled me into her strange world and I was right there beside her as she marched through these fever dreams masquerading as songs. I loved it. There was something dangerous and epic and sweeping and yet somehow incredibly intimate about the album. From the driving lines of Horse and I to the strange mysteries of The Wizard through the stomp-clapping of Prescilla and into the soft embrace of Into The Light... I was enchanted. I listened to it obsessively for a while. So... I approached Two Suns with some trepidation. Could she craft a worthy follow-up to an album that had affected me so? The answer is a definitive yes. If we were swept away into a fantasy world with Fur and Gold then Two Suns (perhaps quite appropriately) feels like being thrust into outer space. The driving drums are still there but her voice takes on a spectral aura here. The opener glass is another great start, starting off quiet and then pulling you in. When she starts singing "to be made of glass" into the ether... well I had chills. I really appreciate that she's taken the music into some new directions with this album. It's still easy to identify as her music, but there are lots of interesting new textures in the mix that really liven everything up and keep it fresh. Perhaps one thing that shouldn't be overlooked is how catchy these songs can be. Not in a pop sort of way... but there are some great melodies and everything is so propulsive and exciting. There's a mix of songs here from the fantastic and throbbing to the soft and lullaby-esque. Now it's not a perfect album. I'd say somewhere in the middle it starts to ramble a bit and loses some of it's edge. But it's still listenable and not boring. It's just not as forgettable. Thankfully around "Good Love" things get back on track and the album ends on a strong note. I'm a bit torn on The Big Sleep. I like the song but I'm not sure how I feel about the way Scott Walker's vocals mesh with hers. But it's still a beautiful ending song. So what did anyone else think? ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 Apr 2009 23:26:16 -0700 From: Gregory Bossert Subject: Re: heather nova (was RE: Throwing Muses, 50ft Wave, Screaming Females concert was good) On Apr 15, 2009, at 10:44 PM, Jon Wesley Huff wrote: > I really like both Blow and Live from the Milky Way. You really > haven't > heard Maybe An Angel until you've heard it on the latter. And of > course > Oyster has the gut wrenching Island and Walking Higher. yeah, what he said! > A few things people might want to check out are some of her > collaborative > and B-side stuff. I really love Someone New, a track she recorded with > Eskobar. It's a great pop song. And some of her collaborations with > ATB have > been nice if you like electronic music. But one song I definitely > recommend > checking out is Man In The Ocean. I think it was recorded around the > time > South came out and it's a better track then most of the ones that > made it on > the album in my humble opinion. i love ecto! i'm adding these to the list of Things To Track Down. - -g n.r. CJ Cherryh, "Cyteen" (again) n.p. birds and frogs and a few brave crickets, though it's a bit chill out tonight ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2009 02:38:30 -0400 From: Greg Dunn Subject: Re: heather nova (was RE: Throwing Muses, 50ft Wave, Screaming Females concert was good) >There were always a few tracks to cling to but overall I did find the >listening experience on South, Storm and Red Bird to be just a little >forgettable overall. The latter especially I had a hard time getting into. >Certainly nothing like Oyster or Glow Stars (my two favorite albums.) But I >definitely have to say she's been a singular artist in the past. I think >around South she lost something... that hard-to-define Oomph that sort of >propels songwriting into great territory. Glad to see others liking Glow Stars. I had a brief email chat with Felix about the recording of that album (on a freaking cassette multitrack of all things) and how things just came together, musically and artistically, still astounds me. Those who like Heather's early work should go look up her home video of "Mothertongue" on YouTube. Just her and Felix in the living room, both playing guitar. Sends chills down my spine. >But on her past albums she had songs that really just cut into me, grabbed >my ears and my heart and wouldn't let go. Songs like Spirit in You, Shell, >and Frontier from Glowstars always mesmerized me. I also have a strong >affinity for the title track of that album. Her live work is always good >too. I really like both Blow and Live from the Milky Way. You really haven't >heard Maybe An Angel until you've heard it on the latter. And of course >Oyster has the gut wrenching Island and Walking Higher. It's still possible to track down some of her EPs with live tracks on them; the tracks recorded in Japan, circa 1995, are every bit as impressive as the Milky Way and Blow efforts. Several of them are solo acoustic, or duos with Nadia on cello. Those versions of Heal and "Truth and Bone" floor me. Looks like I will also be buying Jasmine Flower soon. ;-) - -- - -- | Greg Dunn | If there's no soul in the music, | | gregdunn@indy.net | it's because no one put it there | | The Sultan of Slack(tm) | - the tools aren't to blame. | | http://www.indy.net/~gregdunn/ | Bjork | ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2009 03:00:04 -0400 (EDT) From: Mike Matthews Subject: Today's your birthday, friend... i*i*i*i*i*i i*i*i*i*i*i *************** *****HAPPY********* **************BIRTHDAY********* *************************************************** *************************************************************************** ***************** Jeff Hanson (jjhanson@worldnet.att.net) ***************** *************************************************************************** -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Jeff Hanson Sat April 16 1966 Aries Michael Klouda Mon April 17 1967 Aries Noe Venable Tue April 20 1976 Aries Harry Foster Sat April 21 1956 NiceGuy Kjetil Torgrim Homme Thu April 23 1970 Taurus Jeff Burka Thu April 24 1969 GoFlyAKite Christine Waite Tue April 25 1972 Taurus Matt Adams Thu April 26 1962 Taurus Brad Hutchinson Tue April 28 1964 What sign? Geoff Parks Sun April 30 1961 Taurus Marty Lash Sat May 01 1948 Taurus Barney Parker Fri May 02 1986 happy cat Gray Abbott Tue May 03 1955 Suprised Tamar Boursalian Tue May 03 1966 Taurus Richard A. Holmes May 07 Taurus Steve Ito Fri May 08 1970 DA Bull... Brian Gregory Thu May 09 1963 Eclectic Catherine Sundnes Sat May 09 1970 Very Catzy Heidi Maier Wed May 10 1978 Taurus Kris the boy Fri May 11 1979 Taurus Patrick Varker Wed May 12 1954 Torius Philip David Morgan Sat May 12 1962 Chinese Tiger in Bull Clothing Steve Fagg Tue May 13 1958 Nightwol Karel Zuiderveld Fri May 13 1960 Stier Michael Colford Wed May 16 1962 Taurus - -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- ------------------------------ Date: Thu, 16 Apr 2009 08:22:01 -0700 (PDT) From: =?iso-8859-1?Q?anna_maria_stj=E4rnell?= Subject: lisa ekdahl news Hi..not sure if anyone likes Lisa Ekdahl here..but she has a new album that seems nice. http://www.myspace.com/ekdahllisa Anna ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V14 #104 ***************************