HARPS OF FUCHSIA KALMIA & DORA BLEU - THE ECHO PALACE OF FINITUDE (CD www.centreofwood.com) This beguiling and quite wonderful album, is a collaboration between Dorothy Geller (Dora Bleu) Vocals, acoustic Guitar and multi instrumentalist Salvatore Borrelli (Harps of...) who plays Bouzouki, Dulcimer, Tampura and Celtic Harp, as well as a host of other stringed instruments, the resulting mix a free-flowing and mysterious sounding affair, a long slow trip downstream, drifting through unknown forests and alien landscapes. Right from the off, “Falling Axa” beckons you in, the beautiful voice swathed in a cloth of swirling, writhing notes, the intertwining sounds creating a new whole that is has a haunting middle section that sounds like rain dripping from trees. On “There is no Ease” time is slowed down, the music breathing quietly, leaving spaces for the words to conjure magic, sounding like a lost child on the edge of panic as the tension slowly climbs. Gentler in texture, “She Comes To Me to Kiss My Lips in the Great War” is soft and filled with longing, sounding not unlike Larkin Grimm if she had been a seventies folk artist only just discovered. Using an array of instruments gives the music different nuances and textures as the musicians weave their spells, but the fact there are only acoustic instruments, a voice and minimal percussion, allows a thread to run through the collection, the music almost timeless in its simple elegance, the arrangements always perfectly geared toward the song. With a tinge of Nick Drake in its playing, “Back Rooms” is another wistful piece, whilst the excellent “Bonfires and Family Tree” takes all that is good about this album and magnifies it, creating the finest track on the disc, filled with droning strings, delicate notes and sublime vocals. Finally, “According to the Press, There are no Women Detainees” ends the album, ten minutes of sadness made sound, the hint of a dark undercurrent permeating the music making for some uneasy listening, especially as the lyric begin to seep into your consciousness. Highly recommended, this album is a small gem that deserves wider exposure. (Simon Lewis) |
