Fire Museum Rec.
Axa Hour Of Dora Bleu : Clones Of Eros (CAN,2008)**°°
I still recognise something of the style from Dorothy Geller’s previous band, From Quagmire (see review here). Dorothy’s (here singer, songwriter and guitarist) new project (-she was also with Laconic Chamber-), is joined by Brooke Crouser (Jackie-O Motherfucker) on piano, electric guitar and vibes; Alex Ste-Onge (Feu Therese, Et Sans, Shalabi Effect) on upright bass; Justin Evans (Rivers and Mountains, Et Sans, Shalabi Effect) on Rhodes and electronics and Francis Amirault (Le Sentier Lumineeux, Cian Ethrie) on percussion.
On the first three, calmly stretched tracks this convinces well thanks to a couple of elements that make it work, within the surprise and relaxation mood of the moment.
On the first track, “Marked for memory”, the intro consists of picked guitar, with lots of awareness of the space and calmness around it, sound spots and flashes of Rhodes notes, peeping violin, and a looming and dog-a-sleep-grooming-double bass, before Dorothy sings her song, while acoustic guitar, calm bass, and bowed sounds accompany her, with a strong breathing energy, her calm, sweet and whispery-silent voice which appears in full glory here, as a fresh flower moving in the wind while releasing its nice scents.
“Meaning and wrath”, besides delicate acoustic guitar, adds for the moody instrumental introduction still-inspired sound-explorative, and in balance with it’s surround space with silence, textures of electronic sounds, swirling far in the background, double bass crawling-up drips, one-notes on violin, brushy ticks on cymbal, and an instrument that, as a contribution of improvised notes, sounds actually more in between Rhodes piano, vibes and glockenspiel, while the song part itself continues at a walking speed, and in a cradle humming rhythm. Also “Disappearing” after that still fits with that mode, besides it also includes a clarinet contribution (sounding more like a sax to me).
By the fourth track, on “Incantation”, however, by the fourth track, the textures to the slowly moving, sad pickings, fall back on its simplistic methodical ideas, with a repetition of what was done before without much significance to the newness of the moment, staying and confirming the safe place once more without giving a feeling of necessity to do so, and this also without going anywhere with the arrangements, and with no real ending or conclusion. On “Gashed and bloodletted” hereafter I still keep the feeling, while listening closely, that I know their point by now : the textures which continue in the same too much of a deliberate additional mode by now, becomes more like a vague inspirational “trick” without more preparation. The band members, for making a recording (if this wasn’t done all too quickly like a one time improvisation), by this track should have been more critical before adding something of no essential nature, or otherwise, in their improvisation skills, should at least learn to play better or be more inventive and aware to the relationships between sounds and melody, so that they can keep their contributions convincing a bit longer than a couple of more intuitive moments. This fifth track also has some additional, simple piano.
The last track, “Lantos Buried”, uses a more thoughtful, still simple, combination of accompaniment of guitar pulses of pickings, with attached to it’s imput, some triple notes delivered in breathing pulses, by double bass, with addition of bowl sounds and an echoing bass line drone, an idea which is however carried more or less the whole way through this last, also whispery song, besides a few extra arrangements for the ending, with well arranged choir-like whispery vocal arrangements with cooperative and rather high toned harmonies.
A limited edition of 500 copies.
