Mostly Autumn - For All We Shared

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Free Music Notes for For All We Shared

Free Music Review: The promise of future greatness.
Hit: 5 Stars

The band has always had their poppy moments, but the amazing power pop opener "Nowhere to Hide" is utterly brilliant even by their skyscraping standards. Beginning with the chorus (after some drunken singing, at least), the song gains a sense of insistence that makes it instantly addictive. It's a bit busier than your average pop song too, storming out your speakers with pounding bass, blustering drums, glittering tambourine, slick keyboards & guitars, and non-stop vocal hooks. In fact, the hooks are almost too overwhelming and some may find that the song gets old a bit fast. Maybe...

Anyhow, this song really highlights the effectiveness of the album's production style, where the band seems to have isolated the immediacy of a live show. Listening to this disc, I visualize the band performing onstage rather than recording individual tracks in a studio. A live performance's energy and a studio recording's craftsmanship? Excellent!

The highlight for me is the awesome anthem "Heroes Never Die", again beginning with the chorus which elevates the song's sense of urgency. As it moves along, the listener is treated to uplifting choruses, gorgeous atmospheric music, and a dizzying ending. The last passage builds soaring guitar melodies on stuttering drum rolls for an intense finale.

Everything else is wonderful too, alternately sorrowful and peaceful: the hallucinatory, winding atmospheres of "Porcupine Rain", the fun Celtic-inspired instrumentals "Shenanigans" and "Folklore" that exquisitely visualize their influences, and the uplifting "Boundless Ocean" with its nice violin parts. The band likes its wind effects, and "The Night Sky" brings them in along with Floydian guitar phrasings and ethereal keyboards. "Steal Away" is a mellow song, the only one on _For All We Shared_ where Heather Findlay sings lead. Here, she sounds a bit like Mary Fahl, but less dynamic -- on the band's later albums, she develops not only as a very strong singer but also as a songwriter (I refer you to the stunning _The Last Bright Light_).

Lord Chimp stamps this CD with the "Great Debut According to Chimps" award. That means it's good (chimps know their music, you know?). And if this is the debut, imagine what the future has in store...

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