Search - Mors Syphilitica :: Feather & Fate

Glorious.

Scott Sweet | Colorado Springs, CO | 08/21/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"The beauty of Lisa Hammer's voice and the power of Eric's orchestra/folk/rock/goth are stronger than ever. This album has a LITTLE less rock than on "Primrose," and the band's most cinematic sound to date. Lisa's vocals are FINALLY mixed with clarity!"The Hues of Longing" starts with a clang that suggests the album will sound like Mors Syph's 1996 debut. According to Eric, he got mad one day trying to get his bass guitar to cooperate, and flung it across the room. That interesting KRRAAANNGGG! fades into a glorious piece of baroque pop. The galloping urgency of "Naturally Cruel" is strengthened by Lisa's operatic style and some cool strings. "Only a Whirlwind" has a relaxed, shoegazer sound right out of Cocteau Twins' "Milk and Kisses." A few other tracks also harken to Liz Fraser's angel-pop. "Nostalgia's Sea" reminds me of The Sundays, and has less instrumentation going on all at once than the other songs."Fountain of Tears" sounds like that song you heard in a dream, then couldn't recall when you woke up. Gorgeous plucked strings (mandolin?). "My Virgin Widows" features a banjo and a vocal lament much like "This Love Ours" on the previous album. "Far from Loneliness" sounds like the folk ballads Heart or Led Zeppelin did in the early 70's, only with Charlotte Church on vocals. "How Long" ends the album with a renewed emphasis on Eric's guitar and an overall sound like their 1994 album as Requiem in White, "Of the Want Infinite."As long as bands like Mors Syphilitica and Faith and The Muse keep writing songs, there's hope for the world. If this review seems too long and overdone, just be glad I didn't title it "Stop - Hammer Time!""

Passion is still alive

Ravi | Ohio | 07/31/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I loved Mors Syphilitica's last CD "Primrose", it was a dark, passionate and romantic album. When I first heard "Feather and Fate", I was stunned at how the band had progressed and matured. I thought they couldn't be more romantic than they were with "Primrose", but this album seems to have even more love put in to it than their previous albums. The songwriting is more elaborate than before, yet at times it seems more stripped-down and simple...There are some really straightforward songs. The CD is not as goth rock as before, but more ethereal/indie/shoegaze/folk/middle-eastern...I don't know what to call it, it's just beautiful."

American Gothic....

Nathan Christian | Pitcairn, PA USA | 07/05/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This cd is truly a remarkable achievement. The instuments are simple, but beautiful, the singing heavenly. I honestly cannot understand alot of what Lisa Hammer is singing, but it doesn't matter. The emotion just pulls you in and the playing sweeps you along. The mandolin is classic! The cover is remenisent of art from the 20's or 30's. You get the feeling it was from a traveling circus...and the the pictures of the Hammers make it seem evn more like that period. And when the music starts, you really feel like that period! It's timeless and ancient at the same time!I think of Todd browning's movie"Freaks" when I listen to this cd, even though neither have anything in common other that the period feel. It kind of also makes you think of the old time tent revivals in the hot south with the wagons and humidity, and the women and men in ther Victorian style clothing.This is a remarkable acheivment musically, and a must for all Gothic fans everywhere!"