A box of musical delights
You might expect expat Austrians to have something of a Germanic sensibility (check the icy vocals and the precise electronics) you might also think that living in Los Angeles would impact on them, a veneer of twinkling glamour and a sheen of perfection. Add in elements of classic French pop and the dream pop of Mazzy Star and the prospect becomes an intriguing one.
The duo of Sylvia Ryder and Ben Bohm are augmented by Ken Coomer and others (including a string quartet) to flesh out the sound so that it teeters between the decadent and the sparse. ‘Waves’ opens with Ryder at her most Nico-esque, the mixture of percussion, strings and the trills and whirs of electronics provides just the right setting for her. She’s like the fairy atop a twinkling Christmas tree.
‘Jump’ is sparser, the shake of a tambourine and the strum and chug of guitars, it’s the kind of hypnotic groove that the Velvet Underground patented and thousands have licensed since, the Fairies do it better than most. ‘One Trick Pony’ sees them attempting to prove the title wrong, a burst of horns opens the song and they hang around to give the chorus a leg up too. The closing ’96 Dreams’ featuring Johnny Ruby brings in the accordion and some Lee Hazelwood style vocals from Ruby and Ryder makes fine Ann Margaret, if this was the way they wanted to go I’d be happy to follow.
There are some excellent moments on this record, being reminded of Mazzy star is not often a pleasure, but in this case, it is.
Tracklist
01. Waves
02. Plastic Sky
03. Heart Hell
04. The Images We Get
05. Jump The Gun
06. Hurricane
07. Moth
08. Grey Days
09. One Trick Pony
10. 96 Dreams (Featuring Johnny Ruby)
http://www.myspace.com/thesugarplumfairies
http://www.filesonic.it/file/610150851/SF_TIWG.rar
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