From: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org (ecto-digest) To: ecto-digest@smoe.org Subject: ecto-digest V16 #770 Reply-To: ecto@smoe.org Sender: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Errors-To: owner-ecto-digest@smoe.org Precedence: bulk ecto-digest Thursday, May 16 2013 Volume 16 : Number 770 To unsubscribe: e-mail ecto-digest-request@smoe.org and put the word unsubscribe in the message body. Today's Subjects: ----------------- Thea Gilmore's new album, "Regardless" [Adam Kimmel ] RE: Thea Gilmore's new album, "Regardless" ["Michael Quinn" ] ---------------------------------------------------------------------- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Date: Wed, 15 May 2013 05:10:21 -0800 From: Adam Kimmel Subject: Thea Gilmore's new album, "Regardless" I was a bit apprehensive about this one, what with the last two side projects (the rather pointless Dylan album and the rather better Sandy Denny release) plus the somewhat glossy looking album cover, the upbeat and string-laden single and the knowledge that two of the other tracks on the album were going to be revamps of, IMHO, a couple of her weaker fan-only releases. Add to that the fact that I've actually spent the last year fixated on classical music (I'm in the middle of a Bruckner bender right now) and completely unable to connect with any new music, or even a lot of my old music. To my surprise and delight, this is a really great album -- up there with her best, I think. I know, I know, fans always say that kind of thing, but I'm really impressed by the subtle stylistic changes she's made: Regardless, with it's strings, is lusher, denser, more layered than anything she's done before, and contains some of the most heart-stoppingly beautiful songs she's ever recorded. As far as I can tell, the theme -- if indeed there is one -- is motherhood, which she tackles with her usual sharpness, forthrightness and lyrical dexterity, forgoing any sentimentality or gushiness that you might expect with this sort of thing. There are a couple of outright odd songs -- "Spit and Shine" seems, to me, to be poking fun at the kind of middle-class mother she dreads becoming (with a really curious African beat), while "Punctuation", which details a conversation between God, Adam and someone called Lucy, has me stumped. But these are still really enjoyable, and the rest of the album ranges from joyous rockers to moments of such sublime, swooning beauty that even on first listening on the way to work, I was tempted to collar random fellow commuters and say, "Do you know what I'm listening to? Have you any idea how MAGNIFICENT life can be with this kind of music in it?" I have since gone on to listen to it three times a day for seven days straight, and can't wait to listen to it again. Yes, it's THAT kind of great. Buy it and feel love, heartbreak and joy all at once. I'm glad I did. Adam K ____________________________________________________________ GET FREE 5GB EMAIL - Check out spam free email with many cool features! Visit http://www.inbox.com/email to find out more! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 May 2013 11:46:45 -0400 From: "Michael Quinn" Subject: RE: Thea Gilmore's new album, "Regardless" Cool! I remember your skeptical post so am glad you were pleasantly surprised. My copy's coming in the mail and now am looking forward to it more than ever (because of Amazon's weird pricing it was way cheaper for me to order it right from the UK than to get it from here). Thea really is one of the most talented songwriters of our generation and has a great voice as a bonus. Hopefully this will be the album to break her out of her relative obscurity. Mike - -----Original Message----- From: owner-ecto@smoe.org [mailto:owner-ecto@smoe.org] On Behalf Of Adam Kimmel Sent: May-15-13 9:10 AM To: ecto@smoe.org Subject: Thea Gilmore's new album, "Regardless" I was a bit apprehensive about this one, what with the last two side projects (the rather pointless Dylan album and the rather better Sandy Denny release) plus the somewhat glossy looking album cover, the upbeat and string-laden single and the knowledge that two of the other tracks on the album were going to be revamps of, IMHO, a couple of her weaker fan-only releases. Add to that the fact that I've actually spent the last year fixated on classical music (I'm in the middle of a Bruckner bender right now) and completely unable to connect with any new music, or even a lot of my old music. To my surprise and delight, this is a really great album -- up there with her best, I think. I know, I know, fans always say that kind of thing, but I'm really impressed by the subtle stylistic changes she's made: Regardless, with it's strings, is lusher, denser, more layered than anything she's done before, and contains some of the most heart-stoppingly beautiful songs she's ever recorded. As far as I can tell, the theme -- if indeed there is one -- is motherhood, which she tackles with her usual sharpness, forthrightness and lyrical dexterity, forgoing any sentimentality or gushiness that you might expect with this sort of thing. There are a couple of outright odd songs -- "Spit and Shine" seems, to me, to be poking fun at the kind of middle-class mother she dreads becoming (with a really curious African beat), while "Punctuation", which details a conversation between God, Adam and someone called Lucy, has me stumped. But these are still really enjoyable, and the rest ! of the album ranges from joyous rockers to moments of such sublime, swooning beauty that even on first listening on the way to work, I was tempted to collar random fellow commuters and say, "Do you know what I'm listening to? Have you any idea how MAGNIFICENT life can be with this kind of music in it?" I have since gone on to listen to it three times a day for seven days straight, and can't wait to listen to it again. Yes, it's THAT kind of great. Buy it and feel love, heartbreak and joy all at once. I'm glad I did. Adam K ____________________________________________________________ GET FREE 5GB EMAIL - Check out spam free email with many cool features! Visit http://www.inbox.com/email to find out more! ------------------------------ Date: Wed, 15 May 2013 22:40:36 -0400 From: DanStark <2005.carnivore99@verizon.net> Subject: The Folks Below Holly Brewer of H.U.M.A.N.W.I.N.E. has released new music from her side project known as The Folks Below. I'm listening to it right now, shades of Veda Hille come to mind. I forgot this was coming so it was a real treat to see the newsletter land in my In box this evening. The album is streaming in its entirety at http://thefolksbelow.org I see she's also playing some rare performances this weekend at the Steampunk World's Fair in NJ. I wasn't even aware this was even going on until just now but where's my aviator gear? Dan ------------------------------ End of ecto-digest V16 #770 ***************************