Search - Idaho :: Forbidden EP & Alas

The Genius Does It Again...

slowcore | Los Angeles, CA United States | 07/22/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jeff Martin's Idaho is one of the consistently best, most beautiful, and most maudlin bands/projects around today. The Palms ep, the Year after Year album and the followup, This Way Out were astonishing. But after that (in my opinion), Martin hit a tiny slump. Not that the following album (three sheets to the wind) and the 10 inch ep were bad...i would even say that they were great if I was discovering these works from a new band. But since Martin has set up such unbelievable standards in my mind, I was a mite disappointed. The song structures were lacking a bit in melody, immediacy, and memorability, and the druggy/despondent gorgeousness was sacrificed a bit for lackadasical "experamentalism", to use a non-word. But in '97 and '98 Martin made a come back with the two finest works since the jaw-dropping This Way Out, namely the forbidden EP and Alas (a full length). I must say that overall, the forbidden ep is the strongest Idaho work to date. Five unbelievable songs, with hard hitting emotional intensity and the sonic beauty of scuba diving in a tropical paradise while blissed out on morphine derivatives. In particular, "Hold Everything" makes me cry each time I hear it. The last couple of years have seen two more Idaho albums, the Hearts of Palm album (some great songs, and some just good ones...remember, when dealing with Jeff Martin, 'good' is every other indie songwriter's 'amazing') and this year's wonderful Levitate. But even if you are an Idaho neophyte, you cannot lose with buying the forbidden EP FIRST. Whether you are unnaturally blissed out or weeping on a rainy night, this album is the perfect sonic companion."

Zen masters of the slack key 4 string guitar

howard_seth@hotmail.com | Seattle, WA, USA | 10/06/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Idaho are back to once again save us from the hackneyed musicianship and lyrical platitudes that plague guitar rock in this decade. Jeff Martin and Dan Seta, the undisputed zen masters of the slack key 4 string guitar are up to their old tricks again, painting sonic landscapes that would make Bob Ross loden green with envy. Martin's stream of consciousness lyrics meander about the canvas, propelled by his trademark melancholy baritone. Feedback melodies streak across the sky like vapor trails while the bass and drums converse below. Those familiar with the band's earlier work will immediately notice that layers have been stripped away, or perhaps they have been eroded by the forces of nature, exposing the voice in its raw beauty. Seta and Martin have created their own musical lexicon. The five tracks on this stunning EP show that they have learned to interpret, to restate with elegant simplicity. Proceed directly to checkout."

RED APPLES FALL AGAIN

howard_seth@hotmail.com | 09/18/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Jeff Martin is on his personal, astonishing way to Heaven. The kind of Heaven you enter in Sunday afternoons when your weak morning optimism has gone to the madhouse. For those who went crazy for Mascis' lazyness and for those of you who have seen the red apple fall, The Forbiodden EP will be the door in the rain."