The Echoing Green: Sanctuary

The Echoing Green are banging away on a new album, slowly releasing new tracks to Myspace and occasionally pushing out production videos on their podcast feed.

The latest is Sanctuary and, I must say, it does an excellent job building their “darkwave” sound. Here are the lyrics, as posted on their Myspace.

Take naivete from me and leave me isolated
all at once I feel so free, yet so captivated
you make the endless waves of time -
seem so temporary.
you’re my missionary, emissary… Adversary!

You define the line between human and divine
in this empty place intrinsic grace, so necessary.
See the skies divide.. when hope and fear collide
from this cemetery, offer me this sanctuary.

There is violence when you move
yet I’m stationary
devastate all my design and make it arbitrary
you break my legs yet leave my knees…
my will penetrated.
I’m eviscerated…
consecrated…
Lacerated!

This heart, you break it and make it sacred
these eyes awaken, this breath is taken from you

You define the line between human and divine….

The Echoing Green released their first serious “darkwave” work on The Winter of Our Discontent with Blind and Fall Awake. As a style, I think that darkwave can be best defined as the dark, harsh, even bitter side of New Wave with modern production values. This description applies to both the sound and the lyrics. Now, that is not to say that Echoing Green is going all depressed or hatefull. Indeed not! The style is, rather, to dive into the darkest pits of despair and grab onto the faintest ray of hope, then wrench and tear your way upwards until the darkness is evicerated. The sound is dark, certainly. The lyrics can even feel dark at times. But the point is that, if you actually listen, both the music and the lyrics truly focus on hope.

Which, I believe, is the essential message.

-otto

Duality

Ahh, the madness that can emerge from conflicting band names.
While reading up on The Echoing Green, I came across a note that Joey B (the lead musician and driving force behind the band) is producing a new group called Pristina. This group will probably only release one or two CDs, as it exists solely as the fulfillment of a concept, that is, to showcase the mingling of female vocals and electronic music to fit the auditory tastes of Joey B.

Problem emergeth.

While the idea sounds nice, the name is already in use.
If you go to the last.FM page for Pristina (http://www.last.fm/music/Pristina) you will find that this experiment in feminine vocalization, produced by an introspective, devout (if not especially vocal recently) christian, shares its name (and last.FM page) with a grinding, blood-soaked death metal band.

*sigh*

While the contrast here is amusingly shocking, at least there are only two bands. This is as opposed to, say, the artist name “Andromeda”, which is shared by at least 6 bands and (the one with which I am concerned) a science-fiction TV show.

Happy Sadness

Ah, nothing like a little upbeat sad music

Just listening to some Erasure and decided to look up the lyrics to Phantom Bride.

She was a shy girl from a lonely street
She had no job to do and no friends to meet
She´d sit in silence in her rented room
Dream of her childhood and invented truths

And in her mind she´d drift away
A secret place to steal away

Don´t you cry, don´t you cry
Let me wipe away the tears from your eyes
Don´t you cry, don´t you cry
Let me wipe away the tears from your eyes

He was a good boy from the outside of town
Said he could treat her right
said he could win her round
Her morning sickness and the kick inside
The phantom kisses of the phantom bride

And in her mind she´d drift away
A secret place to steal away

Don´t you cry, don´t you cry
Let me wipe away the tears from your eyes
Don´t you cry, don´t you cry
Let me wipe away the tears from your eyes

And in her mind she´d drift away
A secret place to steal away
Don´t you cry, don´t you cry
Let me wipe away the tears from your eye
Don´t you cry, don´t you cry
Let me wipe away the tears no more
No more lies
Don´t you cry, don´t you cry
Let me wipe away the tears from your eyes
Don´t you cry, don´t you cry
Let me wipe away the tears
Let me wipe away the tears

OK, so the chorus of the song is a bit happy, talking about not lying or crying any longer. But the verses are quite sad. And the whole thing is sung in such an upbeat tempo and voice.

Perhaps I should counteract all of this with some depressing(depressing sounding) Depeche Mode or hopeful(depressing sounding) Echoing Green.

Or maybe just put it all on random…

-Otto