Glissando - With Our Arms Wide Open We March Towards The Burning Sea

  by Chris Jones

published: 11 / 9 / 2008

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Review

This is the first work I have ever heard from Glissando and I will guess that might be the case for many people. Prior to this album, the band, Elly May Irving and Richard Knox, have only released material via limited CDR's. The fact that this album exists might be considered a minor miracle as well, since the long term relationship between Irving and Knox dissolved prior to this album even being conceived. I don't know how the relationship issues affected the creation of these songs, but this may be one of the most haunting albums I've heard. Violins and pianos, trumpets and trombones, create an orchestral drone that pulls you into a dark, lonely, almost otherworldly place. Is this the sound of soul searching or deep introspection? Perhaps. And while the album does seem to exist in a dark place, it somehow manages to resist slipping into abject depression even when some of the songs stretch on into the 10 minute plus range. The key behind this seems to be the vocals of Irving. Her voice is only slightly less haunting than the music, as it has at least a touch of hope or possibly wonder to it that keeps things from getting too heavy. Her voice is at times joined by male vocals, creating a sense of tension that might also help in keeping things from sinking into an abyss. The orchestral drone of the music is both gentle and haunting. The voice of Irving offering the glimmer of hope. Glissando have created a very heavy album that at times seems on the verge of pulling the listener into a void that can not be escaped. And while that isn't always a bad thing, I was glad that things didn't get quite that deep.

Track Listing:-

1 We Are Depleting
2 With A Kiss And A Tear
3 Floods
4 White Silence And The Fragile Reality
5 Goodbye Red Rose! This Was Not For You
6 Like Everything You See
7 Always The Storm
8 Grekken
9 Our Flags Wave And Our Arms Are Around Another's Shoulders

Label Links:-

http://www.gizehrecords.com/
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https://twitter.com/gizehrecords