Dandelion Wine - All Becompassed By Stars
On the 26th of March, came out the latest record of the Australian duo Dandelion Wine, featuring Naomi Henderson responsible for singing, flute, percussion, guitar and electronics, and Nicholas Albanis – guitars, period instruments, bass, percussion, electronics and a bit of vocals. The record All Becompassed By Stars was created not, like the earlier of the band's materials, in hot Australia, but in winter, in Berlin. The newest work stands out with its greater energy and stronger than usual rhythmicity, but without losing the beautiful ethereal sound.
The record starts with the title track, which is definitely one of the best in this album. The sound of the "old" instruments blended with the beautiful vocalises by Naomi is interwoven with trip-hop rhythm and the raw voice of Nicholas. I took a liking to this piece, it is perfect for opening the album. Just after it, there comes an increase in the tempo and the power with "Gravity". This piece has got interesting trance atmosphere, develops in a very cool way and gets more powerful with adding an electric guitar in the ending. The only thing that spoils my listening to it, is the sound of the singer's voice, which is too "meowing."
"Shards" speeds up even more. It has got more electronics and stronger, faster drums, we will hear an elaborate electric guitar solo, and all of that in an oriental style. However, it is quite rough and it simply lacks a nice melody. Next on the record, we will hear trance-like "Nowhere" and the very interesting "Sidereal," which increases in power to become a trip rock piece that has got quite a lot of electronics and neurotic, disturbing vocalises by Naomi. After that most emotional piece, the atmosphere gets lighter and the record calms down thanks to the ballads "Early Warning Sign," "Orbit" and "XVII." The first is more rock, the second is more folk and the third one is more trip-hop – my personal favourite is the second one. The album ends with the piece "Seven Times As Bright" with ambient character, closed by the sound of bells.
The music created by Dandelion Wine is very interesting, original and daring. With every piece, I am surprised by that unusual blending of oriental dark folk, ethereal, electronics, rock, trip-hop, dream pop or even ambient. Unfortunately, the disadvantages for me are the insufficient melodiousness of the compositions and too "flat" sound of the singer's voice, which occasionally gets tiresome. All Becompassed By Stars is worth listening to, both because of the extraordinary mix of different genres and for the consistency in the beautiful, oriental character of the pieces. I recommend this album to the fans of the genre and to the seekers of new sounds and genre fusions.
Tracklist:
1. All Becompassed By Stars
2. Gravity
3. Shards
4. Nowhere
5. Sidereal
6. Early Warning Sign
7. Orbit
8. XVII
9. Seven Times As Bright
The record starts with the title track, which is definitely one of the best in this album. The sound of the "old" instruments blended with the beautiful vocalises by Naomi is interwoven with trip-hop rhythm and the raw voice of Nicholas. I took a liking to this piece, it is perfect for opening the album. Just after it, there comes an increase in the tempo and the power with "Gravity". This piece has got interesting trance atmosphere, develops in a very cool way and gets more powerful with adding an electric guitar in the ending. The only thing that spoils my listening to it, is the sound of the singer's voice, which is too "meowing."
"Shards" speeds up even more. It has got more electronics and stronger, faster drums, we will hear an elaborate electric guitar solo, and all of that in an oriental style. However, it is quite rough and it simply lacks a nice melody. Next on the record, we will hear trance-like "Nowhere" and the very interesting "Sidereal," which increases in power to become a trip rock piece that has got quite a lot of electronics and neurotic, disturbing vocalises by Naomi. After that most emotional piece, the atmosphere gets lighter and the record calms down thanks to the ballads "Early Warning Sign," "Orbit" and "XVII." The first is more rock, the second is more folk and the third one is more trip-hop – my personal favourite is the second one. The album ends with the piece "Seven Times As Bright" with ambient character, closed by the sound of bells.
The music created by Dandelion Wine is very interesting, original and daring. With every piece, I am surprised by that unusual blending of oriental dark folk, ethereal, electronics, rock, trip-hop, dream pop or even ambient. Unfortunately, the disadvantages for me are the insufficient melodiousness of the compositions and too "flat" sound of the singer's voice, which occasionally gets tiresome. All Becompassed By Stars is worth listening to, both because of the extraordinary mix of different genres and for the consistency in the beautiful, oriental character of the pieces. I recommend this album to the fans of the genre and to the seekers of new sounds and genre fusions.
Tracklist:
1. All Becompassed By Stars
2. Gravity
3. Shards
4. Nowhere
5. Sidereal
6. Early Warning Sign
7. Orbit
8. XVII
9. Seven Times As Bright
