Manahil - Alouânou' Sama'

Artist: Manahil
Title: Alouânou' Sama'
Genre: Ambient
Release Date: 2010
Label: Self-Release



Album Review

When I was sent MANAHIL’s debut album ‘Hadayane’ to review, I was very impressed with the layering of oriental sounds, keyboards and the distinctive female vocals. Now with their second full-length available for download I’m eager to hear how they have developed. I can honestly say I’ve breathed a sigh of relief here. The elements that endeared MANAHIL to me on the first album are still present. The lofty production, oriental sounds and the progressive arrangements are still very much at the forefront. This time however there is a more cinematic-pop feel to it which gives it a sound that brings to mind names like Brian Eno, Ryuchi Sakamoto and Yoko Kano.

The opening track ‘Tayarâne’ is fifteen minutes of sublime, ethnic tinged progressive ambient-pop that incorporates a range of modern and traditional sounding instruments all underpinned by Fazazi’s distinctive vocals. ‘Hatred’ continues down a stronger, heavier path with the electronics and guitars giving a visceral edge to the song. ‘Et j’attends encore la chute d’un cadavre’ however, is a sparser, more minimalist song that is a nice hark back to the first album with it’s glassy Synth sounds and tribal percussion - definitely a standout track. ‘Blâch’ on the other hand sits somewhere between world music and Jazz which makes for a nice and funky interlude if not somewhat misplaced though. ‘Narr’ returns to the same heavy electronic formula as ‘Hatred’ that becomes much more complex and delicate as it goes on adding percussion and vocals. The final track, ‘Houdou’ is another epic at sixteen minutes long - though the first couple of minutes build up from silence - it evolves into a web of delicate hanging chords for a mystical, almost reverential feel. An excellent closer for an album such as this!

My one main criticism of the first album was that there was somewhat an over-reliance on the electronics, particularly in the percussion department, and that a fuller sound might be more possible with some guest musicians. And I have to say that ‘Alouânou' Sama'’ has given me exactly what I wanted. I had been worried about where the band would go after hearing the minimal-acoustic EP ‘From Roots To Clouds’. But it was completely unwarranted. ‘Alouânou 'Sama'’ has picked up where ‘Hadayane’ left off and evolved the MANAHIL sound into a fuller and more self-assured one. I’d still like to hear some more real drums, but the programmed drums are more than adequate here.


Tracklist

01. Tayarâne
02. Hatred
03. Et j’attends encore la chute d’un cadaver
04. Blâch
05. Narr
06. Houdou’


Line-up

Mathieu Fiset - Music, keyboards, piano, programmed beats and acoustic drums
Hind Fazazi - Lyrics and vocals


Websites

http://www.manahil.ca/ / http://www.myspace.com/manahil


Cover Picture




Rating

Music: 9
Sound: 8
Extras: -
Total: 8.5 / 10


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