Lovespirals need a new audience
10/08/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
""Windblown Kiss" is obviously misunderstood by many Projekt Records fans. Clearly, this album was not recorded with them in mind. None -- or at least, few -- of the typical ethereal music cliches are present in the songwriting of this new Lovespirals release. While there is certainly an ethereal mood to many of the songs, there is never an abundance of quote-unquote ethereal style going on. Lovespirals compose songs, not ambient passages, with clearly defined verses, choruses, bridges, solos -- the whole nine yards. Not content to stick to simple mood pieces, they offer fine musicianship and variety in the sound and song structures of this unconventional offering. There's no easy pigeonhole for Lovespirals' music to fit into, least of all darkwave, gothic, ambient, or ethereal. Jazz is really not an apt description either, as jazz is merely one element of their songwriting. Folk is certainly also present, rock, even a bit of world music. This album doesn't cater to any one class of music genres, which makes it very refreshing to some folks, and fairly difficult for others. The fact that it doesn't live up to someone's idea of what a Projekt record -- or a Love Spirals Downwards record -- should sound like does not make it a "bad" record. This record needs to be discovered by a much broader range of music listeners to be truly appreciated for what it is; an extraordinarly brave new blend of musical genres, taking the most profound and beautiful essense of each, and wedding them in blissful harmony."
Guitar Geek alert!
Won Lee | 07/11/2002
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Once again, this unusual Projekt Records band has managed to surprise me! I thought I was surprised by Flux, which was so different from the 3 other LSD albums, but Windblown Kiss is even more of a surprise. And a delightful one, at that.I had wondered what they've been up to since Flux; Temporal, their best-of styled compilation from a few years ago, didn't really prepare me for this new sound change. I assumed that they'd be coming out with something even more dance based than Flux, actually. But instead it seems that all this time, Mr. Lum has been hiding away in his studio, honing his guitar chops in preparation for his most extensive guitar work to date! Hooray!Maybe I'm the oddball fan out here, but the main reason I always liked LSD was more for the guitar than the vocals. To me the emotion of LSD's songs are born from the guitar, with the vocals being more of a sugary coating. It was with great pleasure that I learned Windblown Kiss was written with a number of guitars, played in a number of styles. Not only is there the usual steel 6 string of LSD past, but a rich 12 string, a nylon string and several electric guitars! OF course, non-musically oriented fans might have a hard time picking out all the various flavors of the different instruments, but trust me, every guitar has a unique flavor. And each song on Windblown Kiss seems to highlight a new guitar sound, or combination of sounds. One song also includes a hammered dulcimer, which sounds somewhat between a guitar and a piano. (wasn't there one used on Ever somewhere, too?) Some people seem to be afraid of the new use of Jazz chords and ideas here, but in most instances, you really aren't even aware that the big J word is going on, because its so seamlessly melded into the folk pop songwriting. There's one straight up Jazz song at the very end, but most of the songs here are just lightly sprinkled with Jazz elements, nothing too crazy. The sax is a new thing for the band, but its used tastefully and isn't overdone. This new singer is similar in some ways to the old singer, but different in others. Sometimes she sounds flighty and ethereal, while other times she's Jazzy or soulful, kind of like Tracey Thorn, of Everything But the Girl. The lyrics seem to be in various languages, but their more understandable than past albums. Overall, I'd say the vocals are more pop than before, but that's not a bad thing. Anyway, like I said, I'm a guitar geek, not a big vocal fan.I guess I might have hoped that Mr. Lum would twiddle the knobs a little bit more on his guitars now and then, as the overall effect sound tends towards the cleaner side of things. There are still lots of little Guthrie-esque bits throughout, though. My highlights are the ending ebo solo on "He Calls Me" -- which is very reminiscent of something from Ever or Ardor, and "Dejame" -- which sounds like it could have been done on Ardor, or even Idylls."
Track Listings (10) - Disc #1