Post by Zapp Brannigan on Feb 9, 2011 15:50:14 GMT -5
www.lifessweetbreath.com/reviews/albums/29-the-long-surrender.html
Over The Rhine - The Long Surrender
[Great Speckled Dog]
93%
Over The Rhine has reached for perfection and come close. The Cincinnati-based duo has been creating music since 1989 and have 14 albums under their belt. Their latest, The Long Surrender, takes them back further than their already extensive existence. With a sound that would feel at home in a back-alley speakeasy of the '30s or a cabana club, the husband-wife duo of Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist come from an era not quite our own. They live on a farm in central Ohio and call a Civil War-era house their home. Whether this isolated existence has contributed to their unbelievable creativity is pure conjecture, but what is for certain is that The Last Surrender is Detweiler and Bergquist’s best of their career.
Leaving behind the more playful, jazzier tones of 2008’s The Trumpet Child, the record’s direction shifts towards piano-heavy lounge music combined with an Americana undertone which works its way into some of the songs. Detweiler, the primary musician of the pair, is a jack of all trades. His fingers tickle the ivory and pluck strings equally prodigiously. His incredible talent for enticing the soul of any instrument serves as beautiful accompaniment to Bergquist’s outstanding vocals. Her breathtaking voice is truly the highlight of the album. With control and range that can only come from an industry veteran, her voice remains brilliantly understated even when reaching for the heavens. It is almost as if she treats it as a means of conveyance that will always be too clunky for the striking themes that her voice carries. And this album is written all about one thing: love. Whether that love is divine, budding, imperfect, or longed for, it is drawn to the forefront of every song
The Last Surrender begins with a song that serves as a time capsule to the night life of the '30s with “The Laugh Of Recognition.” Backed by a subtle steel guitar and passionately played piano, Bergquist provides the listener with encouraging lyrics that seem nearly targeted at those beleaguered and jobless men of that bygone era though applies equally well to our own. Setting a low key pace that could be mistaken for sloth, the album holds itself together and the 55 minute length passes far too quickly for the enraptured listener. “The Infamous Love Song” shows its face halfway through the album and is truly the highlight. With a perfect build, Detweiler’s skills on the piano are on full display as they keep pace with Bergquist’s lofty and perfectly rising vocal performance. By the end, the duo leaves the listener’s pulse racing and begging for more. With “Only God Can Save Us Now” and “The King Knows How,” Bergquist presents a more playful side yet maintains a strong pace and never strays from the albums theme. With “There’s A Bluebird In My Heart,” a pervading sense of loneliness pierces the beauty and feels incredibly bittersweet. The album ends on a note of perfect instrumentation. The aptly named “Unspoken” combines trumpet, piano, and steel guitar into a cacophony that brilliantly caps an incredible album.
Produced by the great musician Joe Henry and performed by musical veterans, Over the Rhine’s latest will capture the listener’s heart through their ears. A unique and perfectly sentimental piece of art, The Long Surrender provides an incredible experience to anyone willing to listen.
-Eamon Frawley, February 9, 2011
Over The Rhine - The Long Surrender
[Great Speckled Dog]
93%
Over The Rhine has reached for perfection and come close. The Cincinnati-based duo has been creating music since 1989 and have 14 albums under their belt. Their latest, The Long Surrender, takes them back further than their already extensive existence. With a sound that would feel at home in a back-alley speakeasy of the '30s or a cabana club, the husband-wife duo of Linford Detweiler and Karin Bergquist come from an era not quite our own. They live on a farm in central Ohio and call a Civil War-era house their home. Whether this isolated existence has contributed to their unbelievable creativity is pure conjecture, but what is for certain is that The Last Surrender is Detweiler and Bergquist’s best of their career.
Leaving behind the more playful, jazzier tones of 2008’s The Trumpet Child, the record’s direction shifts towards piano-heavy lounge music combined with an Americana undertone which works its way into some of the songs. Detweiler, the primary musician of the pair, is a jack of all trades. His fingers tickle the ivory and pluck strings equally prodigiously. His incredible talent for enticing the soul of any instrument serves as beautiful accompaniment to Bergquist’s outstanding vocals. Her breathtaking voice is truly the highlight of the album. With control and range that can only come from an industry veteran, her voice remains brilliantly understated even when reaching for the heavens. It is almost as if she treats it as a means of conveyance that will always be too clunky for the striking themes that her voice carries. And this album is written all about one thing: love. Whether that love is divine, budding, imperfect, or longed for, it is drawn to the forefront of every song
The Last Surrender begins with a song that serves as a time capsule to the night life of the '30s with “The Laugh Of Recognition.” Backed by a subtle steel guitar and passionately played piano, Bergquist provides the listener with encouraging lyrics that seem nearly targeted at those beleaguered and jobless men of that bygone era though applies equally well to our own. Setting a low key pace that could be mistaken for sloth, the album holds itself together and the 55 minute length passes far too quickly for the enraptured listener. “The Infamous Love Song” shows its face halfway through the album and is truly the highlight. With a perfect build, Detweiler’s skills on the piano are on full display as they keep pace with Bergquist’s lofty and perfectly rising vocal performance. By the end, the duo leaves the listener’s pulse racing and begging for more. With “Only God Can Save Us Now” and “The King Knows How,” Bergquist presents a more playful side yet maintains a strong pace and never strays from the albums theme. With “There’s A Bluebird In My Heart,” a pervading sense of loneliness pierces the beauty and feels incredibly bittersweet. The album ends on a note of perfect instrumentation. The aptly named “Unspoken” combines trumpet, piano, and steel guitar into a cacophony that brilliantly caps an incredible album.
Produced by the great musician Joe Henry and performed by musical veterans, Over the Rhine’s latest will capture the listener’s heart through their ears. A unique and perfectly sentimental piece of art, The Long Surrender provides an incredible experience to anyone willing to listen.
-Eamon Frawley, February 9, 2011
