VOX- FROM SPAIN TO SPAIN
An interesting choice to be sure and possibly the first one out of the mainstream in a while. Obviously influenced by flamenco music. That makes sense given Lisna’s interest in world music in general.
So, it starts out pleasant enough with Entrada and it’s Spanish guitars. Then it goes into a Gregorian chant with Bells For the Virgin. Like Entrada, not a bad track but nothing has really grabbed me as of yet.
After the acapella Maravillosos, we get to the nine minute long Guiding Star/Ben Com. I don’t speak Spanish so I would have no idea of the lyrics but it seems there are some religious (Catholic?) overtones om this as well as on some other tracks. Again, pleasant but nothing I would kill my grandmother over.
They appear to be done with the chants as we get into While the Birds Sing. This might be the best song on the album as it is more upbeat than the previous few tracks. Nice percussion work.
The rest of the album goes as follows. Deus Ex Machina comes off as something of an Irish Jig which is odd considering the album is supposed to be based on traditional Spanish music. He Who Loves You sounds a bit Arabic (Jewish?) in nature, and of course, there are some Arab influences in early Spanish culture. This despite the puritanical Catholic structure that was Spain at one time. Miragre is another chant song while Bearer of the Cups finishes the album off as they go back into flamenco style.
So, basically, this is a listenable album. Non-offensive, not particularly adventurous. Some of it is me as I probably prefer traditional English Folk and maybe some Eastern European sounds. But as it is, it’s not a bad album. Works well as incidental music if you happen to be shopping maybe and does have some historical value as well.
7/10 (The Word has spoken
)