Search - Lisa Hammer :: Dakini

Atmospheric and brings her voice into focus...but I do wish

Valentina Chimino | California | 07/31/2009

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This CD is the first release from Lisa Hammer since 2001 and her first as a solo artist. I have to admit, I don't see it as much of a departure from Mors Syphilitica, except for the fact her voice isn't buried in the mix like in pervious CDs. I suppose I can hear it in tracks with very low background music, but when they pick up, I do think Mors Syphilitica and it isn't just because of her voice, it is more the style of the writing and note use. Like Vajra has a chord structure similar to an old Mors or NCS song I heard somewhere.



Every once in a while, a diamond like nugget comes to the surface in her work. I remember listening to Mors Syphilitica's Primrose song Infanta and thinking, "wow, they really nailed it!" And on this one "Be Not Afraid" nails it. I can hear Lisa's voice, proud and true, each word pulling me in to the song. I wish the rest of the CD was this way!



There are a few peaks, like Chant No. 5 and Lullaby, but mostly it is soundscapes. Which isn't bad, but I was hoping to hear all the words. The CD doesn't have a lyric sheet either and I bought the CD just for that, as opposed to a MP3 album. I wish I knew the words to "The Saddest Day of All". I can hear some of them, like there is a ghost sighing in my room. Pretty and brilliant, swirling like incense smoke, but distant. But what does this dead spirit want?



A few of the tracks, Samsara and Vajra pick up the pace with drumming, which I like. With all the instruments listed on the CD, I thought it would be more orchestral, and not environmental, in nature.



The music in this piece translates well at times with the exotica of the work, yet on a few tracks, especially those towards the end, the instruments tend to conflict with the voice and I am not sure if that was intentional or not. I couldn't get the "24 hour" theme to the songs, except at the end, though Lullaby is broken up by the last piece, Trekcho. It was like the night fell and then maybe some people got up to do a Sabbat? I tend to get images in my head when I listen to music, so that is where it took me. But I didn't see the elemental ritual of the work, maybe I will on repeated listenings. I'm not sure if I could use this for ritual or not.



And yes, I know. I couldn't sing better than her. I sing like a bunch of cats in a sack being doused with water. Yet I hoped for a few more regular styled songs to break up the atmospheric work. She has better control of her voice than she ever has and also the ability to hold back when needed. I would like to hear those vocals in a way that changes more and is more of a showcase for her songs. I'd like to hear quiet to loud movement in the songs, sudden variance in tempo or vocal use and more trilling. A lot of the songs start out like they end, without any kind of metamorphosis. They stay at the same state all the way through.



Instead of something I listen to while working on something else, I would like to be grabbed by the music and pulled in without being able to resist. She really had to belt out notes to keep her songstress stylings over the mix in prior recordings, so I know she has it in her. Meditation music can be soft and loud. Lisa Gerrard and bands like Daemonia Nymphe do this really well.



Still, people who enjoy Dead Can Dance, Ataraxia or my favorite sleepy time music, the New York Room, would be enamored of this and Projekt affectionados, hungry for many years, will eat this one up with a golden spoon eagerly."