Damon And Naomi - False Beats and True Hearts
by Andrew Carver
published: 30 / 6 / 2011
Label:
Broken Horse
Format: CD
intro
Dreamy and tender psychedelic folk pop on eighth album from former Galaxie 500 members, Damon and Naomi
Damon and Naomi show some things do get better with age. Twenty years after the split of Galaxie 500, and four after the release of ‘Within These Walls’, a triumph of lush songcraft, the duo have returned with another gorgeous effort. The band’s dreamy take on folk and pop is reminiscent of the work of English folk rockers in a range from the Incredible String Band to Sandy Denny. They hit the ground running for the striking opener ‘Walking Backwards’, where Michio Kurihara of Ghost (and sometime Boris collaborator) contributes some fuzz-laden guitar solos that manage to be piercing without overwhelming Damon’s placid vocals. Naomi’s gentle coo and piano are the focus of ‘How Do I Say Goodbye?’, the plangent tale of a farewell to an indifferent lover. It’s complemented by ‘Shadow Boxing’, with some of Kurihara’s trademark e-bow work putting the tale on Naomi’s pleas for domestic peace. ‘Ophelia’ gives Damon a chance to be an enigmatic seducer, while Naomi recounts a dififcult, metaphorical journey by a confused young maiden through a forest tangled with ‘Nettles and Ivy’. Their voices also provide an enchanting blend on ‘What She Brings’. Over nine tunes, they and their accompanists create a tender dreamworld of songcraft that should entrance any fan of their previous work, and fans of psychedelic folk in general.
Track Listing:-
1 Walking Backwards2 How Do I Say Goodbye
3 Shadow Boxing
4 Ophelia
5 Nettles And Ivy
6 What She Brings
7 Embers
8 And You Are There
9 Helsinki
Label Links:-
http://www.brokenhorse.co.uk/
interviews |
|
Interview (2009) |
|
| Dominic Simpson speaks to husband-and-wife team and art rock duo Damon and Naomi before a show at the Luminaire in London about their time with lo-fi psychedelic rockers Galaxie 500 and their own subsequent hightly acclaimed career since then |
favourite album |
|
More Sad Hits (2008) |
|
| In our 'Re : View' section, in which our writers look back at albums from the past, Jon Rogers writes about former Galaxie 500 members Damon and Naomi's melancholic debut album, 'More Sad Hits', which has recently been reissued |
reviews |
|
The Sub Pop Years (2009) |
|
| Gorgeous, but monotonous-sounding compilation album from former Galaxie 500 stars Damon and Naomi, which collects together highlights from the four alabums they made for the Sub Pop label between 1995 and 2002 |
| The Earth Is Blue (2005) |
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