Today I'm going to review my favorite album of the year 2014!
Yann Tiersen's album Infinity will be up for sale tomorrow, on 19th May.
Luckily NPR provided a free first listen of the album,
right here!
Infinity - Yann Tiersen
Most of you might know the French as composer and talented instrumentalist. Both of this is correct.
Worth admiring is the fact that Yann Tiersen managed to never fix his genres of music and remained open-minded.
Some say it's sad he gave up the classical, according to himself never did compose this way.
"Yann Tiersen - Music Sans Frontières". Classical Music Magazine. 2 April 2011.
There is no frontier between classical music and popular music, you are free to work with whatever you want.
For me it’s natural to use lots of different instruments and textures and sounds and noises because life is like that.
In particular, the last album Skyline (2011), is very experimental with its layers, voice and instruments.
Once Yann Tiersen said he would be influenced by the The Stooges. To stick to the truth, I wouldn't have believed that - up to the present.
Infinity is one of this best works. It contains the, from many beloved,
Yanntastic sounds combined with this rock style.
The album cover represents the secret place, where the blue of the horizon and the ocean meld.
Track list
1. Infinity
2. Slippery Stones
3. Midsummer Evening
4. Ar Maen Bihan
5. Lights
6. Grønjørð
7. Steinn
8. In Our Minds
9. The Crossing
10. Meteorite
Slippery Stones is a rough, dark song - like those waves of the ocean. Starting with traditional Irish violin and noisy patterns it creates an ambient atmosphere.
The glass-like toy piano melody with the circular tunes floating in the track recall memories of Amelié and Dust Lane with the spare, although powerful vocals.
A Midsummer Evening is an adorable song with all those little motifs, this is sunny baroque pop mixed with psychedelic rock.
There's A Mogwai remix!
Ar Maen Bihan is sung in Breton. The music is however very mystical and dramatic - The balance of orchestra parts and rock-guitars is excellent.
Lights is a playful song. Filled with electronic, minimalistic movements and music toys it must be about childhood reflections.
Grønjørð is sung in Faroese. Music is the only meaningful language worth speaking for Yann Tiersen. Proof: This song - same feeling, different vocabulary.
Steinn is performed in Icelandic. The album was made in Iceland and impressions were processed in the songs. A tad vaque and wuthering!
In our minds is a partly nostalgic track, the topic is human kind, and the layer reminds me on the album Skyline.
The crossing is more optimistic, not only from the vocal part but also from the instrumentation. I think Yann plays besides violin a tin whistle!
Meteorite is a impressive ending song. The spoken vocals accompanied by the layer of the choir and guitars realize the main idea: infinity.
Hopefully I'll be able to take home my copy tomorrow. In my opinion this is an excellent album, simply Yanntastic!
It seems that Yann Tiersen never disappoints with his music. I have never been to a concert, but perhaps this may change this year.
On 12th of October he is going to perform in Vienna, this would be on a Sunday evening. I might attend the concert if I find a solution for the travel issue.
At any rate, I will definitively enjoy this album, and I hope you do as well!