Search - Con Dolore :: Sailor's Warning

"Sailor's Warning" - a title based on the age old phrase "red sky in the morning, sailor's warning... red sky at night, sailor's delight". The purpose of this, their second album, is to contrast the dark and painful reflections of their previous release ("This Sad Movie"). This CD picks up where "Sad Movie" left off, but with new found hope and a sense of inner strength. The concept as a whole was to create a straightforward "pop" album this time. Everything is more simplified and uplifting, contrasting the spooky memories of lost love and sorrow and focusing on tomorrow's sense of passion for life. As always, there are still sad themes here, but deeper down is a more true desire for happiness. From a musical standpoint, Con Dolore has also tried some new things. This CD features a more stripped down lineup - Ed Ballinger (guitar, vocals, samples, and programming), Kristy Moss (vocals and samples), and Wes Snowden (bass guitar and samples). Everyone's musical abilities stand out on this disc. At times it is nearly impossible to distinguish between the actual playing or the sampling. Ed and Wes also collaborated much more on the musical and engineering aspects of "Sailor's Warning". The songs are almost machine-like, solid and subtly complex, but with simple patterns. Overall the construction of "Sailor's Warning" gave a great deal of room for Moss and Ballinger to try new things from a vocal standpoint. Kristy takes her voice to new heights and all the while maintaining a certain pop appeal, while Ed, with more vocal work this time around, showcases his talents as a singer/songwriter. Those who enjoyed the conceptual nature of "This Sad Movie" will not be disappointed. The concept is still there but in a more subtle and positive nature, and with a much shorter running time. It's a record that's to the point. It lets you in quickly, and eases you out with an understanding of overcoming those things in life that can seem almost impossible to deal with emotionally. It even gets quite light hearted at times. Kristy, Ed, and Wes have cooked up something special on this release and are very proud of the end result.