A 100 Years From Now:
A desolate, tribalistic sound stage... the flute evokes the feel of a ritual from the ancient past. Grim electronic synth textures mix with it and the song becomes a statement: The future will not be so different from ancient times. It is all just one long tribal hymn. Subtle but powerful distortion effects on chanting vocals bring the song to a close.
The Alien Within:
Opens with a futuristic sound texture, like digital clockwork. Once the beat starts, the song gets very intense. Reverberation draws each beat out until it fades into the beginning of the next one. A long, slow setup to the vocals, which are eerie, mysterious, and almost heart-wrenching to listen to. Female vocals provide a nice flourish to the slow fade-out at the end of the track, and a counterpart to the song's narrator who frequently insists: "It makes me cry. You've made me cry now."
Blessed:
A dramatic change in tone in contrast to the first two tracks. The digital background sounds vaguely like The Alien Within, but significantly less rhythmic and more atmospheric. This all changes once the beat sets in, at which point the music takes the form of something resembling club electronica. But the vocals, initially formless chanting but soon forming into the clear words 'And I'll pray for you this summer', express spirituality more clearly and sincerely than any typical club fare you're likely to find. This song is a chant that could be used to mourn the passing of a dead friend. The chirping crickets at the very end are a nice touch and bring back memories of childhood camping trips.
Mysterious:
The drawn-out, low, guttural chant in this track reminds me of the Gregorian monks who sing an entire chord from their throat at one time. But the harmony that develops between the two chanters laid over one another gives the track a complexity that the monks often fail to capture. The rhythm would sound festive, what with the maraca-like shaking sounds, but the synthesizer keys overlapping it are a little too grim to allow it to take on that sort of quality. Instead, it once again sounds like an intense spiritual chant... almost like an instrumental variation on Blessed. The low-pitched chanting is just starting to sound repetitive at four minutes in, but that's when a female vocalist steps in and gives the track a whole new direction, and it ends on an uplifting note. Uplifting yet haunting, like a choir of benevolent ghosts.
Broken:
My first thought was: "This sounds like memories of a past love embodied in sound." That thought was multiplied further as soon as the vocals started. The saddest song on the album is right here, and it is also one of the most beautiful and touching.
"Look at me for I am broken... and I don't know if I will be fixed or just thrown away." How many times have we all thought and felt something like that?
A clicking, winking electronic texture sets in about two minutes into the track, like the sound of dizziness... it gives way to expert drum rhythms and beautiful female vocals that wander all over the track, right up into the third and final repetition of the chorus. This is an intensely solemn and passionate song... one of the best on the album.
Almost Perfect:
Starts off with dirty guitar licks... two sets of strings overlapping. The vocals, in sharp contrast to the previous song about loss and incompleteness, are clearly about falling in love and accepting another person in spite of their imperfections. Despite having some rough edges (particularly some of the guitar work), this is a very hopeful and uplifting track. It is also short and concise, and just the right length to fit for a radio spot. It's easy to listen to, and difficult not to nod your head along with the rhythm.
Life Cycle:
Bouncy, glitchy, ponderous sound from the onset; a slow, unpredictable progression. Sparse piano decorates the synth background about two minutes in, and by that time it seems to be an instrumental track... but after a long, slow buildup vocals do set in. They draw a line halfway between the upbeat romanticism of Almost Perfect and the intense loneliness of Broken. A sadly epic romance.
More Rain for Madeline:
At first it sounds like a religious service, with bells sounding at a large, old-fashioned temple. Once the bells fade and the flute synths come in, the song is a low-key ambient instrumental that slowly builds up for the first three minutes. After that a drum rhythm blends into the flute harmony and gives the track body and power. Five minutes in, vocals start up when they're least expected. Only then does the song reveal itself as one more exploration of the complexity of human relationships, and the feelings of longing that come from the distances between people. The slow buildup is well worth the result.
Snow May Fall:
This songs grabs me from the very beginning with its lonely vocals blending smoothly into soulful violin playing. A dreamlike and slightly surreal electronic rythm sits behind the strings. The beat, once it starts, is intensely rythmic, and synchronizes perfectly with the vocals. A good range of sounds on this track, not just every kind of instrument imaginable but also strategically placed silences... and wonderful dips and rises in the pitch of the vocals.
Something In My Eye:
Exotic sound from the onset, with sparse percussion and very harmonically precise vocals. Pulls effectively at the heartstrings of the listener. Short, precise and thought-inspiring.
The last Time I Cried:
One of the most calming and serene things I've ever heard. A nearly perfect ambient track with smooth synths and placid keyboard melodies. The vocals are used as a beautiful instrument, not a device of precise communication, and if they formed any clear words, it would only detract from the track and it's message. Crying can be a very calming thing... and so can the memory of a good shedding of tears.
Till I Die:
The flute gives this track an air of mystery from the very start, and the strings and synths combine to make it sound very strange and exotic. You'd hear music similar to this in certain kinds of eclectic bars and hipster hangouts, or maybe one of those places that lets you rent a hookah with scented tobacco. But the lyrics give it a different sort of quality, creating a combination unlike anything I've heard before. It carries a feeling of rising tension that never quite gets released. The lyrics are generally quite romantic... although some lines are too mysterious to define in such narrow terms ("If I can fool the wisest man, then I can fool the whole world.") This could be music to fall in love to, or music to lament a lost love just as easily. The track has a great progression the whole way through.
A Walk in the Cold:
The electronic background is wandering and nonlinear, totally unpredictable- the sound of being lost in a big city. Slow, hypnotic vocals alternate between worded messages and drawn-out chants, accented by gentle keyboard notes. Very unpredictable dips and changes in the vocal rhythm. A lonely, reflective, chilling piece of art... like a long walk in the cold.
SUBMITTED BY JONATHAN... A NEW FAN