A bit of a departure for the band, this CD may be regarded by some listeners as a noble failure, although as experimental pop music it has its moments.
Curlew collectively sets poems by Canadian poet
Paul Haines to music, and brings in
Amy Denio for guest vocals. The poems themselves are insubstantial and often a little silly, and not all of them fit comfortably into song form. (How, for example, is a songwriter or singer supposed to manage lines like "No silly lucidity/of wound/but an illicit extract of broken nose"?) A few of the song "arrangements" are also rather primitive (perhaps out of necessity), consisting of successive lines, each sung one note higher than the last -- with the lyric simply repeated itself two or three times over the course of the song. Still,
Denio has a compelling, attractive voice, and
Curlew's members seem to be enjoying themselves. With allowances made for the triviality (or inscrutability) of the lyrics, when
Curlew is able to fit the lyrics into a half-decent tune, or even an interesting riff, the results are quite satisfying.