Trance To The Sun
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Ghost Forest , 5/10
Bloom Flowers Bloom , 6/10
Venomous Eve , 6/10
Delirious , 5/10
Azalean Sea, 5/10
Urchin Tear Soda, 6/10
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I Trance To The Sun di Ashkelon Sain e Zoe Alexandra Wakefield sono fra i tanti gruppi che trasportano il pop atmosferico di Dead Can Dance e Cocteau Twins in ambito gotico. Formati a Santa Barbara, esordirono con Ghost Forest (Tess, 1994).

Quelli di Bloom Flowers Bloom (Tess, 1995) sono lieder ambientali per elettronica, chitarra, percussioni e canto. Il sound delicato di You So You F, per nebulose d'accordi e gorgheggi d'opera e le astrazioni new age di A Sun Lingering Disease non valgono in realta` i brani dal ritmo piu` pronunciato, la vertigine da delirio di Fish & Knife, o l'arringa veemente di Trans-Lucia (Patti Smith agli angeli), Una ritmica dub e jazz fa di Spiderlike un incubo piu` intenso. Le sincopi ballabili, i vocalizzi eterei e gli esotismi vellutati di Fin e Yellow Hair spostano il baricentro verso il progressive-rock.

(Clicka qua per la versione Italiana)

Venomous Eve (Ambulancia, 1995) was greeted as a milestone for gothic electronic music. After Delirious (Ambulancia, 1997), the band released Azalean Sea (Ambulancia, 1998), a collection of unreleased material.

On Urchin Tear Soda (Precipice, 1999) Trance To The Sun's atmospheric songs have vastly improved from a purely sonic point of view, but still lack the bite that would make them a lasting experience. The languid cocktail-lounge soul-pop of Calling All Vanished Airplanes harbors textures of immense sophistication, propelled by techno-funky rhythms of Peter Gabriel magnitude. In general, Sain's scores aim for a suspense that sounds ever more noir than gothic and often hint at chamber music (Swing Lower, Czar Chasm). But at last in Heart Transplant a propulsive rhythm pushes the envelop and enters techno territory.
Two ten-minute suites crown the album. A plethora of sounds and techniques helps paint soundscapes of minute detail and broad perspective. Spider Planet's three movements recall progressive-rock in its heyday (early Genesis and King Crimson). Vortex Airplane Itinerary is a more dissonant and sparse affair, with Steve Roach's electronic music in mind and a coda of otherwordly noises. It may very well be Sain's masterpiece.
The duo's weakness are the vocals. The female singer only "speaks" over the music, thereby detracting from the score. Sain, on the other hand, has achieved the stature of a full-fledged electronic composer, and should try a solo instrumental album. His crowded compositions would fare well in any auditorium.

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