a r t i s t : VA t i t l e : Ponieheart and Crane Orchard-Touch To Love-Spread Your Lies d a t e : 2007 l a b e l : Now Here c a t : n/a s o u r c e : CDDA g e n r e : Indie r l s. d a t e : Apr/2007 t r a c k s : 21 b i t r a t e : VBRkbps s i z e : 91,5 MB _______________________________________________________________________ Ponieheart is the solo project of Paul Fugazzotto II, also lead member of Crane Orchard. Up to now he had released one of each project, now he is offering a double album; one volume for each project sold a Ponieheart Crane Orchard. In this first par of the review Im exploring the Ponieheart album, Touch to Love. It was recorded and produced in three days by Jamie Stewart (from Xiu Xiu) in his apartment, Oakland, CA. As credited, he also whistles, plays bells, table leg and harmonica. Paul is doing the rest: vocals, guitars, drum programming, synthesizer and piano. Five of the eleven songs of this album are new versions of those of the previous Raw Ponie ep, and its the occasion to see all the progress and refinement he went through in order to realize this album, three years in the making. If we are talking about a solo project, we are far from simple singer-songwriter stuff. Of course there is intimacy, personal melancholy, emotions and feelings shared here but it is also very subtle musically speaking. His songwriting has been compared here to those of Patrick Wolf, Castanets, Holopaw or Grizzly Bear. I can only second the Grizzly Bear comparison because I dont know very well the other artists. What is certain is that this record is not introvert or particularly fragile, Pauls voice is sometimes high-pitched, not too far from Shawn Smith (Brad, Satchel) or Greg Dulli (Afghan Whigs, Twilight Singers) but with more intimacy. The way electronic arrangements are used can also call to mind the second Uzi & Ari album. With 38 minutes for 11 songs, the album starts slowly with a minimal and introductive Front Porch, its melodic beats and pensive vocals distilling the impression of blurry elements of darkness floating in the peripheral zone of vision. With acoustic guitar and bass, Hold the Light is a poignant and moving classic emotional & melancholic folk song, with feelings of emptiness and loneliness growing inside you while you listen to it. Perfect for mournful rainy days. With addictive up tempo beats, Dont lie plays the role of a hit here, like a visit card for Ponieheart, but a few songs later Road is Long or Go Dead are even more convincing. Night Time is a much more disturbed and troubled song, even upsetting if you let yourself floating in this turmoil. It is followed by the nocturnal, more intimate and almost whispered Hallways. Red Telephone is the only song I dont like on the album because it becomes too much saturated and dark with beats, reverb and oppressive guitar lines, almost the equal of those nightmares when you wake up suddenly, sweating and panicked in the middle of the night. Breece Pancake is a beautiful fragile song about the American short stories writer of the same name, dead too soon, that makes you want to explore his only book. Swamp is a delicate and moving song about being in a state of deep blissful happiness, the last song, Moses looks like very personal melancholic and poetic emotional sincere wanderings, a good way to finish the album on an apex. Touch to Love is a quite good album though I dont totally succeed in losing myself in its meanderings. Lets exploring the second CD now, the Crane Orchard debut album. This time its much more the work of three years than the work of three days. Much more instruments, people and means of production have been engaged. Crane Orchard is mostly a three people band here, with Paul Fugazzotto II, Nick Punch and Betty Rupp, and seven other additional musicians are also credited. The sound is fuller, richer and also more conventional, more typically alternative and indie, less adventurous than on their previous ep. Even if the sound and the songs look nice, like with the second Uzi & Ari album, besides one or another attractive melodic song like Please Forgive me, Ive got difficulties to be concerned, we are far from the usual melancholic or intimate directions usually defended here. Finally if it is the same songwriter behind both bands, the two albums are really different in their musical and personal achievements. Personalities are complex, we have a new proof. _______________________________________________________________________ cd1 01-Crane Orchard - Ask Myself [05:04] 02-Crane Orchard - Breece Pancake [02:43] 03-Crane Orchard - Bitter [04:16] 04-Crane Orchard - Not Fall [02:22] 05-Crane Orchard - Please Forgive Me [05:10] 06-Crane Orchard - Don't Lie [03:40] 07-Crane Orchard - Dirty [06:16] 08-Crane Orchard - Go Dead [03:18] 09-Crane Orchard - Friend [03:12] 10-Crane Orchard - Swamp [03:23] cd2 01-Ponieheart - Front Porch [03:47] 02-Ponieheart - Hold The Light [03:12] 03-Ponieheart - Don't Lie [03:43] 04-Ponieheart - Night Time [02:31] 05-Ponieheart - Hallways [04:01] 06-Ponieheart - Red Telephone [03:46] 07-Ponieheart - Road Is Long [04:28] 08-Ponieheart - Breece D'j Pancake [02:19] 09-Ponieheart - Go Dead [03:22] 10-Ponieheart - Swamp [04:00] 11-Ponieheart - Moses [03:35] ------- 78:08 min