powerdove - Do You Burn?
Label.........................: Circle Into Square
Genre.........................: Indie
StoreDate.....................: 03-11-2013
Source........................: CDDA
Grabber.......................: Exact Audio Copy (Secure Mode)
Encoding Scheme...............: Lame 3.98.4 V0 VBR Joint-Stereo
Size..........................: 49.93 MB
Total Playing Time............: 30:54
Release Notes:
Annie Lewandowski has been writing and performing under the cloak of
Powerdove since late 2007. Undertaking the project originally as a solo
venture, the nu-folk act has now ballooned to three members for the
recording of her third record, Do You Burn?, incorporating John
Dieterich of Deerhoof and Thomas Bonvalet of L'Ocelle Mare. Hailing from
Minnesota, the North Star State, Lewandowski has frequently included
themes of nature and the outdoors, no doubt spurred on by the grand
breadth of natural beauty (and sheer number of lakes) on offer in her
home state. Nowadays, she resides in the UK, using Lake Itchen in
Hampshire as a muse in lieu of her normal inspirations Stateside.
She describes her music as "eclectic-folk" which is a term that should
be applied very loosely. The sounds on Do You Burn? are somewhat folksy:
it's mostly acoustic, there are dainty flecks of guitar and the pure
voice of Lewandowski trundles through the sounds. It bears similarities
to her previous outfit, The Curtains. However, it is also jarring,
dissonant experimental music, filled with irksome tunings, strange
passages of near silence and flippant time signatures. Elements float in
and out aimlessly with nerve-wracking insolence and laissez faire
belligerence - some songs are difficult to listen to through the brambly
twangs of tuneless violin (is that violin?) and broken accordions. But
despite the superficial awkwardness of the noises, it's actually a very
endearing, and at times traumatic, record.
Opener 'Fellow' squirms through a thorny undergrowth, plagued by painful
screeching and what sounds like the recording of someone tuning their
guitar up and down. It's brimming with caustic creaky-door squeals that
seem to purposefully contrast the droning guitar strums - 'Fellow' is
less a song, more a soundtrack to some of Artaud's theatre of cruelty.
'Under Awnings' continues this theme, adding a plethora of arrhythmic
handclaps and snappy piano glissandi. It's again hard to listen to, but
there are bursts of melodic voice. The title track on Do You Burn? is
where the LP really takes hold û it's a vicious spat between anxious
strings and Lewandowski's mournful madrigal. The track is solitary, with
her pristine vocals expressing loneliness and redemption. It's intense.
But it's not all doom'n'gloom/eldritch art-folk. Twinges of Bj÷rk are
present in the vocals as 'Love Walked In' swans into earshot. It's a
sweet, delicate ode to love. Crunchy cracks of percussion bamf around,
but for the most part it's quite a standard folk ditty, preaching
summertime frivolities. 'Wandering Jew' is a slice of self-deprecation,
with acerbic rhetoric aimed squarely at herself for having the audacity
to sully nature with her songs: "I have forsaken the tune like a
wandering Jew/ I have failed, selfish and foolish." Perhaps not the most
accessible song she's ever written, but despite her "cardinal sin" she's
actually created something that sounds weirdly adorable. It's the kind
of eccentric, shuffly indie-folk Diablo Cody is sure to nab for her next
film.
Lewandowski is a natural improviser, and that comes across on the
record. A lot of the melodies and harmonies are half-formed, needing a
mite more work to turn them into folk proper, but allowed to fester in
avante-garde instrumentation and dischordant randomness. It makes for an
album that's not the most easy-listening. That said, the instances of
rounded pleasure that aren't wallowing in noises that sound like someone
has given a mandolin to a toddler, sound great - there are plenty of
moments here that are lovable, and indeed plenty that are harrowing. Do
You Burn? isn't one for the faint of heart/lovers of big choons, but
there'll be something lurking between the arthouse Mickey-Mousing and
pastoral folk to ensnare you.
Tracklisting
01. Fellow 3:46
02. Under Awnings 2:13
03. Do You Burn? 2:54
04. Alder Tree I 0:40
05. Love Walked In 2:17
06. California 1:42
07. Flapping Wings 1:32
08. Red Can Of Paint 2:35
09. All Along The Eaves 2:12
10. Out On The Water 2:48
11. Out Of The Rain 2:49
12. Wandering Jew 3:16
13. Alder Tree II 2:10
Support The Artists, Buy Their Music....