The beauty of love, as it was made to be...
So so, I'm in love with Sigh No More by Mumford and Sons, and I think it's high time you hear about it. I love their voices, their harmonies, and their intensity. They sound beautiful together and complement the lead singer phenomanally. I'm a sucker for strings, and they play beautifully. The album is almost like a menu put together by the same gourmet chef. Each song is unique and flavorful, subtle and robust at the right times, with lots of different tastes and textures; they are also clearly of one creator, blending the same elements in new and exciting ways.
I'm a sucker for good lyrics, as well, of course, so I'm going to list some of my favorites, and some random thoughts on the songs. If you want the real depth of the words, listen to the song; you can find them all on grooveshark and youtube.
"Love, it will not betray you, dismay or enslave you, it will set you free."
--This is from Sigh No More, the first track. The song starts with some somber harmonies over a really simple strum, but it eventually builds into this more hopeful edict. The jump from the first part to the second is like a cruise up a small hill, then a dip and then up up up again, up a mountain this time, and with every repitition, and new instrument is added, and it finishes right there, at the apex.
--I can't accurately write about The Cave or single out a lyric. Each line is dependent on the line preceding and following. It has a beautiful chorus and a lot of up and down.
--Now, Winter Winds is the first song I ever fell for. Jonathan played it for me months ago, and then at camp Boyd played it again but this time it hit me, tackled me, really, sent me reeling in it's intense and beautiful sadness. I would post parts of it, but I really think the refrail has to be heard.
--I haven't seen these dear British fellows in concert, of course, but you just know when you listen to Roll Away Your Stone that they sometimes get so caught up in playing that they don't know anything but the blisters on their fingers and the energy all around them, until the booming drum kicks in and they come back to the audience and the song slowly slips away.
"You desired my attention, but denied my affections."
--White Blank Pages = super personal, I think? Specific and angry and sad.
--Little Lion Man? Rip your heart out. For real, these guys are sorry for screwing it up, whatever it was.
"Death is at your doorstep, and it will steal your innocence, but it will not steal your substance."
--Timshell. Just go listen. It's beautiful.
"In these bodies we will live, in these bodies we will die. Where you invest your love, you invest your life."
--Awake My Soul is another strummy beautiful build up song, which starts with a simple "How fickle my heart and woozy my eyes..." Other attributes aside, how do you not like a song that uses the word woozy and it's not just to rhyme with some other made up line?
So, that is more than I meant to write, but it's hard to pass up any of the songs. I did miss a few, but they are still wonderful. Anyway, I miss writing about music. I miss writing in general. I'm going back to my crosswords to try and keep the old ticker ticking and my vocab sharp. Keep me honest, folks.
Night has always pushed up day
You must know life to see decay
But I won't rot, I won't rot
Not this mind and not this heart,
I won't rot.