Review Summary: The sound of rain
The second album syndrome has caused many artists to fall by the wayside. Maybe it is the old adage of you spend your whole life making your first that your spent by the second. For Stina Nordenstam this is far from the truth.
And She Closed Her Eyes is an album that has a timeless sound, and when you think it was released in 1994 it's shocking how much it has not dated in production. This could be due to acoustic and minimalist nature of the instruments that are used.
Vocally the album is delicate and beautiful. Stina sings mostly soft and low on most tracks not forcing her voice in anyway. This is evident on the opener "When Debbie's Back From Texas". It lulls you straight into the record and creates the sound that the rest of the album will occupy.
"Viewed From The Spire" is another example of how Nordenstam's voice is the perfect fit with the music. The track starts off with rhythmic background percussion and a minute in, flows into a lovely light jazz section. It segways nicely into the next track "Crime" that is more of a downbeat track that has some very low volume percussion that reminds me of something Peter Gabriel might do.
The most famous song from Nordenstam was and is "Little Star" that was included in the soundtrack to
Romeo and Juliet film. The song is led by an acoustic guitar and vocals that turns into a jam( a mellow jam at that) and then back into what could be deemed as the chours. It is the attention to detail in the music that is captivating including a little choir section at the end of the song.
It is hard to call the music on
And She Closed Her Eyes that of a singer songwriter. It seems all very free flowing and jazz type feel. Lyrically it is hard at times to know what Nordenstam is singing but I think this adds to the charm of the album.
"Murder In Mairyland Park" starts off very
Kid A before there was a
Kid A. It has an eerie atmosphere to the song and is very minimalist for the first half before a percussive and children's choir kick in on the outro. The song builds wonderfully and continues to grow until it drops out to a piano and faint vocals.
"So This Is Goodbye" has to be one of the most beautiful songs on the album. When Stina sings "So This Is Goodbye" in the opening line it just reaches into the listeners heart and from this line you are involved in the track. Shimmering guitars and distorted guitars in the background meet halfway. It ends with wonderful separate vocal lines.
The album title track and closer of the album "And She Closed Her Eyes" has the most lo-fi sound of all the record. Just a lonely acoustic guitar and vocal. It's the simplest song but that doesn't take away from it in anyway. Rain slowly overtakes, the song fades out till the end, and you feel relaxed.
