一聽音樂網

首先不要被這張丑陋的CD Cover所迷惑，因為專輯的質量相當高。早前在Myspace聽到這只樂隊女主唱（Orenda Fink）的聲音，就深深被吸引住了，所以這張專輯理所當然也是期待已久。樂隊的產生似乎也是命中注定的，女主唱由于原來的樂隊解散之后，為了繼續追逐音樂的夢想，簽約一家solo廠牌，并在幾次大型音樂演出中結實了許多志同道合的音樂人，之后便是Art in Manila的成立。我想，做音樂的人，特別是對于一支重新建立樂隊來說，肯定是想尋覓新的元素，但是限于主唱Fink的聲音（民謠式的氣息及寧靜），似乎改變又變的那么困難，專輯的整體風格元素還是基于Fink過去的樂隊。不過其實我蠻喜歡這種acoustic，懶散的味道。也許聽著Time Gets Us All會讓你感到有點厭煩，枯燥。但是之后的幾首歌曲一定讓你耳目一新，電吉他以及緩緩的鋼琴聲，搭配那種聲線，真的非常不錯。Set the Woods On Fire，Golden Dawn更像是聽著悲傷的訴說，喜歡獨立女聲的朋友不仿好好品位一下這張專輯。

Who? Art in Manila is the latest progeny of Omaha, Nebraska's Saddle Creek label. The sextet is comprised of former Azure Ray starlet Orenda Fink on vocals and guitar, Adrianne Verhoeven on keys and vocals, Dan McCarthy on keys, Steve Bartolomei on guitar, Ryan Fox on bass, and Corey Broman on drums. The band's debut LP, Set the Woods on Fire, arrives Aug. 7, just prior to the band's falljaunt opening for Rilo Kiley.

What's the Deal? When Azure Ray, Fink's ethereal pop duo with fellow Alabaman Maria Taylor, disbanded in 2004, she amped up
the country with her solo offering, Invisible Ones, a contemplation on spirituality filled with death and God and maybe redemption -- "prophets, pimps, angels, whores," as she sang -- and plenty of Southern Gothic heaviness. With Art in Manila, she turns her voice, which is still pure like a bell and richly sad like red wine, to similar subjects (mostly the soul and its torments). Her band, cobbled together from people she toured with solo, makes it all seem less lonely. More passionate numbers such as "Spirit, Run" and the acoustic beauty "The Abomination" bear this out clearly, but even on pieces of gorgeous sorrow like album bookends "Time Gets Us All" and "The Game," there's the sense that not all is lost because even poor Orenda has someone to keep her company.

Fun Fact: Art in Manila was originally going to be called Art Bell, after the creator of and the radio voice behind late-night syndicated talk show, Coast to Coast AM. The famed broadcaster, who officially retired from the show July 1, is famous for delivering commentary dealing with paranormal phenomena like ghosts and UFOs. Although the subject matter seemed to fit the aesthetic of the band, there were potential legal issues, so the band name was changed to make reference to Bell's 2006 tenure in the Philippines.