We Are The Willows – “A Collection of Sounds and Something Like the Plague”
Album Reviews | Nov 30th, 2009
Record Label: Amble Down
Genre: Lo-Fi Indie
Band Link: www.myspace.com/wearethewillowsmusic
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Nice lo-fi indie with soft, sometimes chant-like singing, a minimalist-yet-atmospheric ambience, and pretty guitar melodies single-note plucked like a banjo. The singer has honey-sweet, feminine vocals, a couple of registers even higher than the Shins dude. Come to think of it, he sounds a little like Jon Anderson from Yes. Roundabout, indeed.
For conceptual lo-fi music, I liked this. It largely lacks the why-bother pointlessness and contrivance of a lot of minimalist lo-fi, and the vulnerable, soft-spoken vocals work well (if a taste to acquire, but hey – I’m a Rush fan). The music is soothing with undercurrents of gentle turbulence, like trying to float calmly in a troubled sea. I can do without the wind chimes, bells, and birds tweeting that appear later in the album, but they do come off more as progressive rather than pretentious.
Bottom Line: To paraphrase Rush, like willows in the breeze.
Notable Tracks: A Funeral Dressed Like A Birthday, The Sorry Psalter, The Windows
Overall Rating: