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February 28th, 2024

SGR

SGR

Vox - From Spain to Spain



So firstly, this is way out of my comfort zone - western classical I guess this is - stuff you might hear in Spain during the Middle Ages - perhaps a soundtrack for the Spanish Inquisition?

Jokes aside, much of this music is foreboding enough that it could soundtrack that - the album starts off with the ominous plucks of “Entrada” and what an entrance it is. Guitar pluckery laid over a menacing string repetition - sorta gives you the idea of what you’re getting into. The guitar work is actually really good here.

“Bells for the Virgin” definitely has a different feel to it - muted church bells accompany a symphony of bass and drums and chimes. I’m not great at Spanish, but I’m beginning to sense this album probably has a fair amount of religious undertones.

“Maravillosos” probably represents what I like least about this album - and that’s music that sounds like I’m chanting hymns in church after the pastor gives the signal. I haven’t been to church in a long time but it definitely reminds me of that big time.

Perhaps the prettiest track is “While The Bird Sings” - the vocal accompaniment is so wistful and pleasant and the backing musicians produce a track that is very lighthearted and bouncy.

“He Who Loves You” has this sort of tribalistic backing drums that are just great while the vocalist floats on top of them wistfully like a jetski skating the lake during the early morning sunrise. Great track.

“Miragre” begins slowly, but then deliberately begins to pick up the pace - increasing the speed and urgency as if you were attending the incantations of some medieval cultish ritual - before eventually slowing to a crawl after the incantation has been complete and the soul has risen to heaven.

Overall, this was an interesting listen. Definitely out of my comfort zone. Probably the closest thing I’ve listened to with any purpose is neoclassical like this:



But I’m glad I heard this album - not something I’d put on with any regularity, but also something I wouldn’t necessarily turn off it came up on my playlist (unless I was at a party, in that case, I wouldn’t be able to press the skip button fast enough)

6.5/10

rubber soul

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 )

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Lisnaholic

Thanks, rubber soul and SGR, for giving this album a listen and reviewing it in a timely manner. Especially SGR for venturing into unfamiliar listening territory:-

You both make some excellent guesses about the music on the album and I'll explain a bit more about it (= copy what it says on the liner notes), but in a day or two, as club etiquette dictates: there are still a couple of reviewing days left before we move on to Mindfulness' very first album choice for the club!

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"Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953

SGR

Yeah gotta say Lisna, I was a little uncomfortable when the album started but slowly it kinda won me over. Once again, love the variety on display here with the selections

Trollheart

Normally I need about three listens to an album before I put up my thoughts, but this time was different. I had some hope with the Spanish guitar and synths on the first track - though even then I thought, bit boring - but when I got dragged into some sort of mass that was it. I'm not really very into choral music and I certainly am not into what appears here to be hymns or cantatas or some ****e. I was completely bored, and also irritated by the album the more it went on. There were several moments when I really thought that's it, I can't take any more, but out of respect to Lisna I made myself get through the whole thing. Of all the hardest things I have done in my life, this was one of them. I breathed a sigh of relief and unclenched my teeth when it was done; all I could think as it ran was "finish, damn you! Finish!"

My head was so woolly afterwards I had to play some Darkthrone to get the cobwebs out of it. Felt like someone had put a bag over my head and dumped me in a church with no way out. Not fun!

Sorry, Lisna: I'm sure they're great at what they do, and others may love them here - I may be the only one who doesn't - but damn, that was the worst album yet. Sorry. Better luck next time.

I won't rate it as you'd be insulted. Suffice to say I won't be playing it again.

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SGR

Damn, Trolls! You even enjoyed the Beastly Brothers more?

Trollheart

Close run thing. Let's say I could get a smidgeon of enjoyment out of the Monster Kids that I really didn't out of Pox, sorry Vox.

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Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

Lisnaholic

Blimey! I never imagined From Spain To Spain would be such an edgy, controvertial choice, though I did guess that some people would find it unexciting.
A lot of the tracks have a "churchy" sound, being dominated by female singers and choir, but SGR, and (more precisely) rubber soul point out that there are various sources and cultures involved. Here's what the liner notes say:-

I don't usually listen to it from start to finish as it has a running time of just under an hour, and I appreciate you persevering with it to the end, TH, despite your instinctive dislike from early on.

I love the slow build of the opening track, with its total focus on what I assume is the oud; focus, that is, until the oud stops and you realise that a sinister synth rhythm has been pulsing along behind it all the while.

Next track (Bells for The Virgin) introduces us to the pure beauty of the female vocals, before laying down a hypnotic oud (?) riff which made me think more of bellydancing than church music.

The most devotional Christian track, Maravillosos has an evocative, echoey sound to it, with odd bits of Spanish/Latin that can be picked out: Santa Maria / Andalucia.

Guiding Star has a variety of singers taking the lead: first the guys, then the girls, then a solo female vocal. That kind of variation helps a song that perhaps is overlong, although it does have a kind of soothing predictability to it too. My guess is that this was originally a Hebrew song, but I don't have any evidence to support that.

While The Birds Sing : I have a CD of North African music that sounds a bit like this, so my guess is that they're now singing in Arabic. Like the previous, if you're not caught up by the lilting voices and gentle rhythms, I can imagine people looking at the clock and wondering when it will end.

Deus ex Machina should snap you back to attention though: lots of strange percussion and electronically distorted vocals, this is my personal favourite, especially the moment when out of the indeciferable sounds comes the single, clear, recognisable name: Nosferantu, like some sinister revelation from the obscure past. It's like you're looking at a page of the Old Testament in Hebrew and suddenly notice the name Cthulhu. (Well, a bit like that.)

He Who Loves You = Same recipe as While The Birds Sing and prob my least favourite track.

Mirage is surely a Jewish dancing song, like others that have that excitement of increasing speed. Simple but contageous imo.

Bearer Of The Cups starts like the album began, with an oud intro before a girl joins in for a song that sways and coils around like a snake.

One surprise for me about this album was that it was made and masterminded, not in Spain, but in Germany, by a group that are prob musicologists as much as musicians. On this album, songs from diverse cultures have been carefully put together to convey the mystery and beauty of a lost time. Songs of love and seduction, with a touch of church, synagogue and mosque about it all too: that's what I hear on this album. 8.5/10

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"Am I enjoying this moment? I know of it and perhaps that is enough." - Sybille Bedford, 1953