A Covenant Of Thorns - Hallowed & Hollow (c) 1999 A Handful of Nothing
Artist....: A Covenant Of Thorns
Album.....: Hallowed & Hollow
Type......: Album
Source....: CDDA
Tracks....: 11
Genre.....: Synthpop
Label.....: A Handful of Nothing Records/Scott-David Allen
Catalogue#: n/a
Encoder...: LAME 3.97
Quality...: VBR kbps / 44.1KHz / Joint-Stereo
URL.......: www.acovenantofthorns.com
Tracklist:
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01 Love Crooked Love 04:06
02 Empty Exorcism 04:34
03 Tears & Roses 05:50
04 Purgatory 05:48
05 Forever 06:16
06 Transparent 04:20
07 Drive Me Home 06:28
08 Necropolis 03:51
09 Deep 06:45
10 Home 03:42
11 Never Fade Away 06:05
Total:76,3 MB / 57:45 min
Release Notes:
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Scott David Allen is the brains behind this DAM CD & if it's emotional
electronic music you're looking for you've come to the right
place.Mostly eschewing any dancefloor status the uniformly excellent
tracks prove themselves ideal for deep listening as Allen's aural magic
casts it's spell time & time again.
The dark & suggestive cover art as well as the use of titles like
"Tears & Roses" might lead one to expect a strong
gothic/romantic/darkwave feel to prevail & although the reliance on
electronics means that this is not the case for the most part the
accoustic sounding drums on the more up-tempo "Purgatory" & the general
feel of "Empty Exorcism" definately remind me of the Italian band The
Frozen Autumn. The latter track especially makes me think that although
there aren't any guitars here it certainly feels like they wouldn't be
out of place.
The opening "Love Crooked Love" is, in many respects, a microcosm of
what the album as a whole is about, being dark, emotional & perfectly
in harmony with the excellent vocals, which are in themselves another
plus point. It's hard to avoid the feeling that had they been just a
little lacking they could have ruined things totally so it's all to the
good that the warmth of "Forever" & the genuine emotion of "Deep" are
brought more completely to life by his melodic tuneful voice.
Unusually for vocal music the excellent melodics prove capable of
painting pictures in the mind's eye of the listener & while
"Necropolis" is quite a sombre affair it's far from being the mournful
dirge I expected, given the title.On a similar level the running water
that backs the solo piano-based "Home" is staple fare of countless 'new
age' albums although the sprinkling of delicate synth strings do
provide the desired impact & save the track from any such soporific
leanings.The closing "Never Fade Away" foregoes any rhythmic influences
totally, allowing the almost floating music to work in unison with the
listener's own emotions & experiences with another superb vocal
delivery taking centre stage once again.
Somehow with such lovingly crafted music the term 'synthpop' is totally
inapporpriate & while I was reminded of Color Theory at times (mainly
in the suprisingly upbeat "Drive Me Home") A Covenant Of Thorns bring
to life the whole spectrum of human emotions & is the perfect answer to
those fools who believe synth music is cold & unemotional; just play
them this album & watch them eat every one of their ill-considered
words!!