Title: Dark Blue World (re-release from 2006)
Artist: Dark Blue World
Genre: Alternative
Release Date: 22nd January 2010
Label: Big Blue Records
Album Review
The opening track 'Warm coat' starts with languidly wonderful bluesy strings and guitars showcasing perfectly Elizabeth Fischer's unique voice which is like mulled wine in its smoothness and intensity. 'Evening wolves' follows up the excellent opening with clever rhythmic beats framing deep lyrics, all played and sung seemingly effortlessly. The title track 'Dark Blue World' grabs you with its cutting lyrics and initially simple backing which soon gives ways to ambling contra rhythms that argue back and forth for supremacy in your head. 'Church of the Blind' has a happier disposition to it musically, despite the title, even if the lyrics are strangely dark for the tune. I like this a lot for its contradictory nature and great lyrics. This is not your run of the mill band as you'll hear discordant clashes melding perfectly with light lyrical skips, and it really works beautifully.
'Cafe Lovely' sounds out delicious major 7th and diminished chords at you coupled with a firm but never overwhelming rhythm, which allows the lyrics to play happily around your brain. This band excel lyrically, but then they do musically too and the shatteringly good waltz 'Melancholique' showcases their virtues perfectly in both fields. It's an outstanding track and one which I doubt I'll ever get tired of hearing. Track seven 'Nightface' with its wonderful discordant jazz feel and brushed drums is another gem of a track, plain and simple, which acts as the perfect precursor to the epically titled 'Shit Happens'. 'Well oh well' is fantastic fun; it sounds just like the James Bond theme for a few seconds and makes further strides in delighting to be different with fabulous Parisian accordions and what sounds suspiciously like slide guitars.
'Displaced Persons' kicks off with honest to goodness nice acoustic guitar work and makes for another great track lyrically and is in my opinion a tad better than the closing track 'Turn it' which despite great Arabic accents to its music doesn't quite live up to the previous track. Jazz infused with ethnic and folk music, heavy lacings of blues and their own very independent style make DARK BLUE WORLD something you should really check out if you can. You have to be able to do a mean turn as a musician to get away with trying some of the things they try, and yet they pull it off, track after track after track. It's a truly great album, well mastered and well conceived.
Tracklist
01. Warm Coat
02. Evening Wolves
03. Dark Blue World
04. Church of the Blind
05. Cafe Lovely
06. Melancholique
07. Night Face
08. Shit Happens
09. Well Oh Well
10. Displaced Persons
11. Turn It
Line-up
Elizabeth Fischer - vocals, text, crappy accordion noodling, fits of Hungarian gloom
Ron Samworth - guitar, guitar-on-back bicycle heroics, divaesque nitpicking, connoisseurship of fine wines
Skye Brooks - percussion, plant life, dépassé yet engaging sweetness-and-light
Pete Schmitt - bass, beads, postering in all the right places. Also rides from rehearsals but then the car died
Chad Macquarrie - guitar, contortive undercurrents of intense caring. Poetically inclined and thus moves a lot
Website
http://www.darkblueworld.ca/ / http://www.myspace.com/darkblueworldca
Cover Picture
Rating
Music: 9
Sound: 9
Extras:-
Total: 9 / 10
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