Rome - Flowers From Exile (c) 2009 Trisol
Artist....: Rome
Album.....: Flowers From Exile
Type......: Normal release
Source....: CD
Tracks....: 12
Genre.....: Darkwave
Label.....: Trisol
Catalogue#: TRI 362 CD
Encoder...: FLAC 1.3.1
Quality...: 791 kbps / 441kHz / 2 channels
URL.......: http://rome.lu
Tracklist:
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1 To A Generation Of Destroyers 1:48
2 The Accidents Of Gesture 5:10
3 Odessa 4:37
4 The Secret Sons Of Europe 3:13
5 The Hollow Self 1:58
6 A Legacy Of Unrest 4:51
7 To Die Among Strangers 4:02
8 A Culture Of Fragments 1:09
9 We Who Fell In Love With The Sea 4:13
10 Swords To Rust - Hearts To Dust 3:53
11 Flowers From Exile 3:12
12 Flight In Formation 5:36
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43:42
Total:271.89MB / 43:42
Release Notes:
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Jerome Reuter's deep tenor recalls the deliveries of both Dave Gahan and Nick
Cave. Coincidentally, the music he writes draws from the same deep well of
drama, personal confession, damnation, and redemption implemented by both of
those writers. On this record Reuter has more in common with the likes of Nick
Cave or someone like Bob Dylan than he does with a pop star, but his music isn't
a simple reflection of any one musical genre. Flowers From Exile is supposedly
based upon the events of the Spanish Civil War, a conflict in which Retuer's
family partook. The various samples used throughout the album, as well as its
exotic arrangements, intimate an atmosphere of conflict and resignation, but
specifics never quite materialize the way they would in folk music or songs of
political protest. More plainly, Flowers tackles the familiar topics of
isolation, desperation, and displacement whether it be political, familial, or
religious in scope. Reuter's use of broad metaphor makes personal investment
easy and ultimately lends the album a melodramatic tint, but the band's
restraint and honesty takes the cheap catharsis of melodrama and converts it
into a spectrum of various intrigues and ambiguities. In this way, the band's
claim that they are influenced by chanteurs makes sense, especially if that
influence were to include the likes of Jacques Brel or Serge Gainsbourg. As is
the case with nearly every album conducted by a poet-musician, there are spots
of lyrical extravagance that border on cloying, but Flowers' many merits make
such excesses forgivable.
Many of those merits can be attributed to Rome's other half, Patrick Damiani.
Responsible for producing Flowers and writing its arrangements, Damiani
populates Reuter's world with the sounds of field recordings, foreign voices,
martial rhythms, atmospheric howls, and a variety of musical styles from
flamenco to pseudo-industrial collage. Despite that variety, the album stays
focused and never degenerates into a formless mush. Comparisons to famous
"neofolk" or "apocalyptic folk" groups makes sense to some small degree however
the band's versatility is enough to distinguish them from groups like Death in
June or Sol Invictus, not to mention their subtlety and restraint. Rome
concentrates the majority of their energy on quality songwriting, a fact
crystallized in both the memorable melodies and diverse forms employed
throughout Flowers. The group rarely falls back on the verse-chorus-verse
formula, they never rely on atmosphere or pomp to hold their music up, and the
train of samples and instruments that pepper the record gel with the songs more
often than they clash.
Patrick garnishes Jerome's songs with layers and layers of instrumentation, but
uses the guitar to hold his ideas together. So, while welters of noise sizzle
beneath some songs and operatic voices swell up beside others, Damiani's
strumming moves forward and provides both a musical and narrative momentum. And
the best songs have quite a bit of momentum to them. "The Secret Sons of Europe"
and "To Die Among Strangers" are heavy and propulsive numbers with explosive
qualities. One is a rhythmically intricate piece with sharp corners, sampled
choruses, understated solos, and a gilded horn section. The other is an
emotionally heavy performance accented by a quickly strummed guitar and an
elegant violin part. They put the album's slowly developed tension to good use
and, as a result, are two of the more memorable songs on the record. Rome's
slower, more traditional songs do not inspire equally glowing reactions,
however. Both "Odessa" and the titular closer feel somewhat empty or unfinished
next to their richly decorated brethern. These songs are no less strong than any
of the others, but they represent the places where Damiani's production does not
rise the occasion. This is a minor annoyance, but it reveals that Reuter's voice
is only as compelling as the music that surrounds it. Flowers From Exile is a
gem of a record nonetheless, and its lackluster ending does little to compromise
its many virtues.