This is Conjure One's 3rd album after 'Redemption' (2001) and 'Conjure One' (2002). This album is in many ways similar to 'Conjure One'. The album is best described as pop-electronica with a strong global influence. It's got an ambient feel to it and makes for an interesting and engaging listen from start to finish.
The songs all have a similar theme to them with the exception of 'I believe' which is the only song sung by Conjure One's main man Rhys Fulber. It's a cover of the Buzzcocks 'I believe' and is Fulber's singing debut. Apart from that the songs all have lovely tunes with most having somewhat compelling lyrics to go with that, sung by Israeli singer Chemda. I personally love the way she sings and find it draws the listener into the song, complimenting the lyrics.
Songs :
1. Endless dream
The opening song is basically a majestic pop tune. It's some great lyrics in it and a strong drum beat. With this song it's easy to relalise the real strengths of this album : that is, the sounds are very well put together. From the gripping drums to the more adventerous harmonies , there is never a moment where it gets too noisy or where it doesn't fit together prefectly. This song is simpler than others as far as instrumentation goes but it makes up for it with beautifully written lyrics. Lots of bass going on here as well. The song also has a little interlude thing which all the songs seem to have and works well with the feeling of the music.
2. Face the music
This song is another popish track. It has a hint of global sound to it, but is similer to Endless dream, strong with lyrics, with just the right ammount of music behind it. It too has what is something of a mix between a solo and an interlude. Don't listen to this album expecting to hear solos really. The shortish instrumental bits aren't meant to be solos but more progressive bits to tie the song together.
3. Pilgrimage
A longish instrumental song. It starts off with this interesting mix of sounds for a good 2 minutes. I love how the drums come in, and you realise once you've heard it once that those weird sounds are actually a prelude to the drums which create this lovely sense of anticipation. The song then goes on to be a little repetitive and a bit 'background'. Sadly this sounds a bit like the sort of music you hear on a plane in the background of the advertisements (if you know what I mean). The great drums makes up for it for me though.
4. One word
I'd group this along with the other poppy tunes such as Endless dream and Extraordinary ways. It's one of my preffered tracks mainly because of the catchy tune (with beautiful cadences) and hearfelt lyrics. It's dificult to explain just what you get from the song but its a mix of interesting music with great lyrics that makes it very addictive.
5. I believe.
Nice global sounds to begin with, like so many of the songs on the album, which get influence from the Middle East, the Mediterranean and possibly India. However I feel this is the low point of the album. It doesn't really fit in with the other songs and Fulbers singing doesn't do it for me compared to the female voice of Chemda. It's got catchty/haunting bits which make it worth a listen atleast.
6. Beyond being
Mainly instrumental track with some haunting choral stuff going on. Like most of the tracks when you listen to this you're not quite sure if it's meant to be a happy or a melancholy song. It's got an interesting mix of sounds though including alien type vocal or synthesied melodies. Not really memorable though, it won't stick in your head like so many of the tracks will.
7. Extraordinary ways
As you get the album this is probably the track that you will love. It just sticks in your head with its lyrics and especially its chorus. When it comes down to it, it' just a pop track with nothing special about it at all; but it's so well put together that I've been listening to it virtually everyday for 3 months without getting bored. It has that rare quality of imersing you in all the aspects of the song, so you feel like the lyrics and various instruments are all coming at you from different directions and gives you that feeling that you can not only hear them but feel them. Personal thought : this song is good for listening to on trains.
8. Dying light
After the brilliant Extraordinary ways this track and the other two still to come don't really feel like anything special. They are really just extensions of what you've already heard before even though the tunes are unique. This feeling is unfortunate really because it's not a matter of the songs getting any less good but the listener just running out of stamina; because on its own this song has everything you'd want from global electronica; great drums, piano melody, a wailing voice singing in god knows what language in that sort of way which makes you think that the vocalist must be very beautiful indeed. It's the sort of song which if you pay attention to it makes you stop doing everything and think about nothing at all.
9. Forever lost
The start of this song just annoys me , because it reminds me of sting. The whole song gives me the feeling that I've heard this before as well. The lyrics don't really do much for me either. As it's plain to see I'm not a great fan of this song. It's not bad at all, there's just nothing special about it, where most of the tracks on this album are special in some way.
10. Into the escape
With this song the ambience and majesty are quite pronounced. It's a good way to finish the album , because the end was just falling abit and losing some of its power. Not much to say about this track. It's got no vocals in it.
So those are the songs. You either really like them and find them fascinating or find them a bit dull. It's personal preference. I personally like the tracks with beautiful lyrics and brilliant tunes such as One word, Endless dream and Extraordinary ways. The instrumentals are great but can have a bit of a background music feel unless you're doing nothing but listen to the album, which then lets you hear all the global influence and brilliant production/mixing.
Anyway this is my first review and I have no idea what the hell I'm doing. I saw no one had reviewed this album and as it has given me many hours of listening pleasure thought I'd share my opinions with you. Excuse my punctuation as well because I just throw in semi-colons when I feel like it. I'll be happy to edit in any points you may have or any correction.
