Cranes
smu...@mta.ca
Anybody have info on the Cranes' album _Wings of Joy_ ? Im interested
in getting it sometime, as I have Curves _Doppelganger_, and Im
wondering how Cranes stacks up.
BTW, the Curve album is pure magic. Im very impressed.
Sean A.M.
Curtis Kamtin Tsui
Wings of Joy is gorgeous. It sounds nothing like Curve
though. In fact, it's so unique (as are many of their singles)
that I can't compare it to anything. Suffice to say the album
is well worth getting.
Curt
MXP...@psuvm.psu.edu
I agree that The Cranes sound nothing like Curve, except both bands feature
female lead singers with heavenly voices. The _Wings of Joy_ CD is much less
dense sounding than Curve; guitars take a back seat to haunting piano
progressions and interesting string sounds. Its dark, ominous, sometimes
downright scary music, but at the same time pretty.
If you're looking for music more along the lines of Curve: first of all, check
out their three previous EPs. I've heard _Blindfold_ and _Frozen_; I prefer
_Frozen_, though most critics seem to prefer _Blindfold_. I forget the name
of the other one.
While I like Curve a lot, Lush is by far my favorite group currently; they
are similar to Curve in that the music has a dense, jangly guitar texture, and
floaty, etherial female vocals; Lush is a bit less dancy, however, and their
songs vary a bit more; on their first full-length release _Gala_, about half
of the songs were medium-rocking tunes with beautiful melodies, and the other
half were leaning toward the thrash-side (while retaining the beautiful
melodies!!) Their latest, _Spooky_ is a bit more mellow overall, but in my
opinion it is the better of the two.
My Bloody Valentine is another group you may want to investigate if you are
into the pretty-female-vocal-mixed-with-powerful-rhythms-and-high-density-sound
genre (known in some critical circles as "wombadelia"). I would suggest
starting with their latest, _Loveless_. Along with the high density sound and
floaty vocals, there is a lot of bizarre but captivating use of the tremolo bar
(A tremolo bar, in case you don't know, is used on a guitar so subtley or not-
so-subtley bend the notes being played.) If you really like _Loveless_, check
out _Isn't Anything_. It doesn't have the density, production, and layering
the _Loveless_ has, but it chock full of MBV's quirky genius.
Happy listening!
Mike