and passionate, without stopping between the
tracks, instead, filling the spaces with creative little snippets. This is what
happens when a great band is given the freedom - brilliance.
Opening track "The Earth Pressed Flat" resembles something from The Wishing
Chair, an energetic, glistening folk gem over a punk beat and saturated with waves of
Robert Buck's achingly haunting chiming guitar. From Dennis Drew's cascading organ intro
to the dreamilly whirling guitar solo, Ramsey's wistful, beautiful sorprano soaks the song
in passionate, organic desire. Second track "Ellen" brings the pace down, to a
steady, stable rhythm. Ramsey articulates a lonely, wandering lyrical tale - "She was
the kind between a child and a lady/Quick was her temper like a blaze from an ember/No one
had measured to her standards/So in the evening all alone..." - as her rich viola
dances in between vocal lines. Buck's guitar again takes the forefront in the almost
gritsy "Once a City", a thundering, intense rocker performed over the sounds of
a thunderstorm. Ramsey's voice soars powerfully as she weaves tales of political unrest in
the middle east - "Little children hiding/Bullets never meant for them/Must their be
such bloodshed/In our hearts our home our heads?". "Glow" is a weeping
lullaby, with Ramsey accompanied only by Drew at the piano. "On & On (Mersey
Song)" and "Cabaret" are where things get more spright and upbeat, driven
by Augustyniak's energetic drumming and Buck's chiming guitar riffs. The strangely
moaning, echoing guitar weavings on "Somebody's Heaven" could easilly bring back
memories of "My Mother the War", although this piece is one of 10,000 Maniacs
slowest, most downbeat songs to date, laced with faint shimmers of Ramsey's viola.
Featured on the album are reworkings of "Beyond the Blue" and "Time
Turns", both of which appeared on the More Than This ep. "Beyond the
Blue", which is normally thought of as a free-spirited energetic cut, is now a
shuffling, subtle, downbeat performance laden with Buck's echoing guitar gleaming through
the haunting overtones and Ramsey's cool, pure vocalization. She even busts a bit of a rap
at the tracks end. "Smallest Step" is idealistic, triumphant and consoling -
"When the day ends and church bells are rining/When the valley is shrouded in
snow/When you're thinking that hope's somewhere vanished/And there's no poetry left to
console you/With the smallest step you'll find a way". Lombardo's gleaming, vehement
12-string acoustic carries "In the Quiet Morning", a Mimi Farina cover,
beautifully. Ramsey cantillates the melody gentley as Drew's warm hammond shuffles along.
One final instance of spright energy surfaces in the form of "Hidden in My
Heart", a gleaming guitar tale of care-free desire. "Who Knows Where the Time
Goes?", a Sandy Denny cover, is executed beautifully, with Ramsey's vocals at their
most supple and enthralling. Her toneful viola caresses elegantly over Buck's faintly
flickering guitar and Lombardo's cascading 12-string. But it's not over yet, there's a
mystery track in the form of the lullaby-ish instrumental "Rainbows".
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