Artist.......: Emily Jane White
Album........: Victorian America
Label........: Talitres Records
Genre........: Indie
Catnr........: 85272 E
source.......: CDDA
rip.date.....: Mar-12-2010
str.date.....: Feb-15-2010
quality......: VBR/44,1Hz/Joint-Stereo
Url..........: www.talitres.com
track title time
01. Never Dead 03:31
02. Stairs 06:04
03. Victorian America 04:21
04. The Baby 04:54
05. Frozen Heart 05:36
06. The Country Life 04:12
07. Liza 03:59
08. The Ravens 07:11
09. Red Serpent 03:45
10. Red Dress 06:50
11. A Shot Rang Out 04:37
12. Ghost of A Horse 05:55
Runtime 60:55 min
Size 65,7 MB
Release Notes:
Emily Jane White was raised in Fort Bragg,
California, a seaside town nestled in the misty,
secluded woodland of the Mendocino Coast where old
men tell stories about logging and young girls
dream of San Francisco. Time moves slowly in Fort
Bragg, where in place of big-city sharp shocks of
excitement there stretches one drawn-out, stable
truth, quiet and unflinching. You will live, Fort
Bragg says, and then you will also assuredly die.
Though Emily Jane WhiteÆs newest album, ôVictorian
Americaö, was written largely in San Francisco and
Oakland, the atmosphere of her upbringing permeates
her songs. White has no patience with light fare.
ôI donÆt write happy music. IÆm drawn to writing
sad songsö, she says. ôReflective, contemplative
songs. I truly believe that thatÆs my job. ItÆs not
my job to create happy music. IÆm okay with that.ö
This pensive feeling was established with WhiteÆs
first album, ô Dark Undercoatö, which critics and
fans alike called a masterpiece; White herself is
more inclined to call it a bare set of sketches.
Conversely, ôVictorian Americaö fills in the blank
lines from ôDark Undercoatö with color, dynamics,
orchestrations and a richer sense of poetics, the
product of the three yearsÆ work. ôI pushed myself
a little bit further in terms of songwritingö,
White notes, ôand the arrangements were more of a
collaboration between everyone involved in the
band. Fortunately this group of people allowed for
a lot of experimentation. It was an incredibly
organic and enjoyable process.ö
That easy majesty from some of the Bay AreaÆs best
players is evident from the first track, ôNever
Deadö, on the intro the unconventional song
structure of ôStairsö. WhiteÆs ethereal conjuring
glides the listener through bright lights and high
waters of the little track, a lament for lost hopes
backed by a sublime string arrangement, and White
holds poetically to the Poe tradition with the
seven-minute opus ôThe Ravensö.
Lyrically, WhiteÆs themes act like a devil on both
shoulders who long ago killed off the angel.
ôThereÆs a lot of references in the record to
political issues, death and dyingö, she explains,
ôthereÆs not a lot of literal narrative. I strive
to create scenes in my writing that allow for
abstract rather than literal interpretationö.
With positive coverage in Spin and Rolling Stone
and with a large European fan base - the reward of
near-constant touring - Emily Jane White is the
newcomer to watch this year. ôVictorian Americaö,
like the country it is banned for, is not an album
that rests easy, nor does it exist for the sake of
existing.
From beginning to end, this is new mystic American
songwriting at it finest.