This is the first I’ve heard from Sandy Dillon, & it’s an intriguing listen. It reminds me a little of Kate Bush, Patti Smith, Automated Acoustics, & the rawness of PJ Harvey with Tom Waits’ instrumental sensibilities. She has among the most unique voices ever committed to record – it scratches, claws & bites it’s way through a million cigarettes but remains extremely fragile & delicate. The instrumentation also has a real experimental quality throughout & is ingenious in places.
However It is often a very hard listen, & one for the headstrong! Rob from Alabama 3 brings a few vocal upstrucks to the table & the two of them work well together. This album was written under extreme circumstances – she was diagnosed with cancer, then while in hospital caught the deadly MRSA infection, which reduced her weight to 6 stone. A lot of this work was written in the hospital, and the intensity is felt in the music. Personally I feel her voice works best in its mellower moments, notable tracks are “Play with Ruth”, “Enter the flame” & “Broken promises “ . Theramin, accordions, harmonica, brush drums & all manner of junketty percussive sounds flow in & out of the mix effortlessly. For fans of the avant-garde, this is an essential experience & must be sought out.
|
However, although the timbre of her voice is one of the most attractive qualities to this record, it is also it’s most grating element at times, & I feel over time this will be an album one puts on to hear a few tracks as opposed to an entire listening experience.. Absolutely wonderful, in moderate doses.
|
