| Over the Rhine | Everybody Has A Story... | Press Archive index
. . . Stride #37, Devon, England by Rupert Loydell - OVER THE RHINE Newly signed to a major, following two stunning self-produced cds, working--as does this--with artist/photographer Michael Wilson on the packaging, Over the Rhine have managed to remain as quirky, intelligent and wonderful as before. Eve is the sort of pop I like--it knows when to be bizarre, when to simply shimmer and quiver with delight, when to rock out for home, and when to shut up and be still. It also drops in the odd poetic and literary allusion ('Conjectures Of A Guilty Bystander' as track title anyoneWell, Thomas Merton wasn't a rocker, let's put it that way--although he might have been if he'd known Over the Rhine), and is prepared to bluntly steal when it needs to -'My Love Is A Fever' just has to be a bastard offspring of Annette Peacock's X-Dreams album, or I'll have to fly to Cincinnati and apologize in person (shame). Anyway, the music. Well, the cd is full of hummable, memorable tunes, all starring Karin Bergquist's angelic sensual voice, and each upon repeated listens is also full of instrumental depth: little touches of guitar, textural keyboards, percussive light and shade, tonal colours. There's even an unlisted track on the end of the cd to keep us on our toes. This is delightful, and reinforces my conviction that we should expect more of pop and rock music than is often delivered. No complaints here, though! |