ciderlord

Alternative Folk? This one takes me back to what seems to be the long gone era of the "singer/songwriter". That long haired guy, hunched over his axe and moaning mournfully to the floor. Sadly this release appears to be an identikit of this style and was frequently painful to listen to.

My first observation was that this sounds like a demo recording, done by someone in their bedroom. Them at one end, mic at the other and with a few overdubs of backing vocal and substandard drumming thrown in. The singing itself is not easy on the ear with the lyrics often out of step with the backing. Track 3 is the worst, and put bluntly, just a messy dirge. Track 5 is the best, some reasonable guitar work and with a riff borrowed from "Lucy in the sky with diamonds" and some Pink Floyd overtones thrown in for good measure. On the downside it does contain some of those less than proficient drums. Even more noticeable is this track is instrumental, so no painful lyrics and tortured vocals. I'm not going to comment individually on the other tracks; they all suffer from the same production and performance problems.

I hate being negative when someone has freely put their efforts on show but this album really needed a lot more work doing before it was released to the public. What may sound all right on a noisy evening down at the local pub is not acceptable in the cold light of this technological age.

Thanks for being brave and having a go but I'm afraid this one falls well short of my mark.

This release came out on Jamendo when I was on holiday. I managed to download it but not play it. It has stayed on my player for three months being saved for Christmas. My present to myself.

If I glance to my right as I pen this review, I can see the multi-spires of our Cathedral, towering above its snow covered roof and the blanket white-out that exists between me and it. There is beauty in the snow, covering, as it does, the cracks of human self-destruction that I can usually view. It is cold out there but I am safe and warm within. That is how I feel about this music, it is cold to the ear and cold to the touch but gives off a warmth that results in a very satisfying inner glow. Typical Caustic Reverie and all the better for it.

Thanks Bryn for a classic year of music and I hope 2010 will bring us more.

This is the first of the longer WMRI releases for review. Dark Passage by name and a dark passage by nature. In reality is one long piece divided into 6 smaller continuous sections although the physical track breaks don't always line up with the actual music ones. Not noticable if listened to from start to finish but if you start midway or your player automatically inserts a gap between tracks then it's not ideal.

The openers, 1 and 2, give the piece a solid and scene setting start. At times I found these quite reminiscent of some of the early works by Caustic Reverie, in itself very much a positive. The piece really takes off though with Passage3. Swirling synths, eerie, dark, foreboding gloom all come into the mix and developing feel. Swiftly into Passage4 and the theme continues unabated. This, the longest section, and combined with 3 are my personal favourites. What did become evident to me as 4 progressed was despite all the darkness, doom and gloom, one thing was missing. Coldness. The work retains a level of warmth throughout, nothing hot but still some warmth. Quite strange. I'm not sure why the coldness is not present but my guess is the pace is perhaps not quite slow enough. At times a definite feeling of background hurry can be heard and maybe this accounts for the warmer sound. The final passages are nice rounders and give the work a suitable air of completion.

All in all, a fine effort. Thanks for sharing it and I look forward to the next one with renewed expectation.

Onto release three for me and another fine genre example.
I'm not over familiar with Lull and Netherworld, and have never heard of Austere, so I can't comment on if I think this album is in their style or not. What I can say is that it yet again of a very high quality and to say the least is more than a little soporific. In fact after three plays I still have not heard the ending as I have fell asleep each playing around half way through the track!. I suppose you could say it is good for insomniacs and the like.

Many thanks to you for creating and sharing and I'm off to the next one now. Hopefully I can stay fully awake to review the whole thing.

This is the last in a series of releases by a new artist to jamendo but the first to appear on site. If this is an example of his work then I for one can't wait to discover the other 5.

The description mentions Steve Roach influences which I can appreciate but the first two artist names which came to my mind in the opening minutes were Claire Fitch, for the style, and Altus for the music, as it bears similarities to chunks of his "winter embrace" series. Both excellent influences in themselves.

I have not as yet formed any mental picture from the piece but no doubt something will take shape with repeated playings. In the meantime, a very welcome addition to Jamendo, an excellent place to start and thanks for this and all the others which I'm off to try now. Highly Recommended.