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Title: Butterflies
Artist: Sinine
Genre: Electronic / Acoustic
Release Date: 18th September 2009
Label: Accession Records



Album Review

From Estonia comes the newest signing on popular German label Accession Records called SININE. The project’s roots extend back to the fall of 2003, born out of the urge to find ways to make more personalized music. During the 5 years it took to complete what is now known as ‘Butterflies’, new companions joined SININE and it not only became a band but a collective of talented artists who shared stages already with DIARY OF DREAMS or THE BIRTHDAY MASSACRE. But now let’s come to what’s really important here, the music on ‘Butterflies’.

A symphony of angels, of ‘Inglid’, is our first glance into the world of ‘Butterflies’. It is a symphony that goes entirely without words and yet it speaks to you, embraces you with the grandeur of violin, ethereal chorals and pads. These are encompassed by sophisticated electronic rhythms, guiding you further into the sonic diversity and the pool of emotions SININE has to offer to those willing to let them in. The second chapter ‘Our Green’ now takes us to the Northern realms and a fog-shrouded mountain from where a ritualistic percussion embalmed in icy melodies' sounds. Then, the sound begins to shift ending up with tenderly pushing; stabbing beats coupled to classical orchestration. This song also is the first to reveal the truly unique voice of Mauno Meesit which is bearing witness to deep and honest feelings connected to one special person.

‘The End’ is the beginning of a time of sadness, desperation and fury. All these feelings ally on this particular song manifesting in a contradictory arrangement. It drowns in deep seas of sorrow with plaintive acoustic guitar and pessimistic violin to abruptly segue into a swirl of orchestral swells, feverish drums and sawing guitar. All is topped off by a more than impressive Mauno Meesit utilizing a fierce growl technique on parts of the lyrics. At first I had doubts if it was actually him. Turns out it’s just another proof of an amazing vocal range. What happens if only sadness remains can be heard on ‘Loner’! Everything, including the arrangement, seems like being trapped in a bubble embraced by a ceiling of darkness. Minor strings and piano flourishes rove around in there and unite with wide unfoldings of ambient meandering and experimental injections to a sophisticated composition both intense and compelling in the emotionality it conveys.

‘Tonight’ finds a miserable young man walking through crowded streets, but to him they’re feeling lonely now bringing back memories of times of warmth and togetherness. The emotions cast into this song were transformed into an autumnal ballad, driving a stake into the heart of everyone who’s loved already and knows how it feels when this love disappears together with the person it was for. ‘Empty Me of Emptiness’ is the famous exception of the rule on an album that’s never particularly aiming for the dance floors. Club-ish pulses edge on a track whose lyrics can’t deny a slightly bitter note. Besides its danceablity, the track offers atmospheric sections that bring this distinct Nordic timbre into the song I have come to love.

‘This Girl’ is another exception. It’s detached from the album’s concept and tells its own story about how we do connect to incidents we read or hear about from the newspaper or radio. We don’t do it anymore. We’re reading or hearing the words, maybe think about it for a while and go on with our lives afterwards. It’s a terrifying state of indifference we’ve entered. This down-tempo tune tells us to “…open our blind eyes” again, learn to show compassion again for other people’s tragic fate. ‘Hello’, the album’s conclusion, breathes the spirit of contemporary classical music. Nostalgic sounds of the piano remain the taught groundwork throughout the sparsely vocalized song. It’s a song that relies far more on atmosphere. It’s recalling different moods from all points of the story and weaves them to one thick string. It’s a painstaking sonic reflection of the past and a glimpse at the light at the end of the tunnel.

Heartfelt compositions and lyrics are often missing in today’s music. Way too often, music sounds overly clinical and technical and emotion falls by the wayside. Not with SININE though. Mauno Meesit and his fellow campaigners make it their top priority and by that alone will find a hopefully growing group of loyal fans who appreciate just that. Besides the obvious pop tendencies in the music, Meesit has kept an open mind. He’s experimenting a lot with unorthodox sound designs throughout ‘Butterflies’ and you can never be sure if serenity remains serenity all the time in a song. To cut a long story short, it’s an impressing debut album from this new signing on Accession Records and one can be curious what will come from SININE in the future. A highlight in late 2009!


Tracklist

01. Inglid - 3:51
02. Our Green - 5:59
03. The End - 6:33
04. Loner - 5:57
05. Tonight - 4:13
06. Empty Me Of Emptiness - 5:21
07. This Girl - 6:28
08. Hello - 7:03


Line-up

Mauno Meesit – Music, Vocals, Guitar
André Pichen - Guitar
Liisa Hirsch - Keys


Website

http://www.sinine.org/ / http://www.myspace.com/sininemusic


Cover Picture




Rating

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


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