If it were up to me, I'd be putting up Songs:Ohia's contribution to the Travels in Constants series - but that is a single 17-minute track with no breaks and I'm probably already breaking the bank here with my bandwidth. After that album/song, I think of this album as Songs:Ohia's best music. Grim, spare, and haunting, but melodic and well-made, one is reminded of Will Oldham and Palace Music and the like.
This album really only has six songs - and the ones you get aren't too epic, either. That said, it's very good, as long as you're not looking for anything remotely poppy. It's an atmospheric album, lacking in smiles, but it's easy to listen to and has some depth in case you're listening closely. Molina spends a lot of time allowing the music to play out where it needs to go - the first track is a great example. He trades verses with his guitar and his voice, allowing the rest of the music to slowly change and grow behind the words and metallic plucked strings. The next two tracks behave a bit more normally, though "The Body Burned Away" is quite the more active of the two.
The first of two instrumental/bird song breaks, both titled "Ghost Tropic," comes before the next proper song, "The Ocean's Nerves," an interminably slow but well done song. Next is my favorite track, "Not Just A Ghost's Heart" - percussion is provided by what seems to be either a woodwind of some sort or perhaps some kind of weirdly muffled guitar scraping, in any case repeating quickly and accentuated by powerful piano chords every hour or so. Molina sings with much soul on this one, and while I usually end up skipping the monotonous, uneventful coda, I think that it's the best songwriting and performing on the album. The final track (following more bird sounds) is a rather mournful drone with a nice sound, but lacking the urgency of the previous song.
This is a great album, but if you can't handle the grim tone and slow pace, I can't recommend it to you despite its quality. If you like Will Oldham, Appendix Out, Castanets, or others of the "slow and dark" variety, definitely give Ghost Tropic a shot.
Here's "Lightning Risked It All," by Songs:Ohia.
That's a damn good song. I shall seek some Songs:Ohia product for my dwelling. I like your blog, you have an intersting taste in music.
Posted by: Scott Alexander | 2005.10.15 at 07:05 PM
Where the hell are you! Call a bitch sometime!
Posted by: JON FOLEY | 2005.10.19 at 11:29 AM
hello thanks for the information on this blog! I think too interesting! I think without music could not live is one of the best things out there! Greetings!
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