The sublime voice of Alicia Merz is back again with the third album as birds of passage and its overall aesthetic is going to put you in a subliminal state of mind. Alicia simply sings and her voice gives rhythm and intonation to the music.
birds of passage is the solo experimental music project from the New Zealand native singer and songwriter Alicia Merz that has been spreading her “silence in sound” since early 2011 when she released the enchanting album Without the World.
The music of birds of passage is a unique blend of engaging and deeply moving music and In This Kindly Slumber, the new album, there’s again that deep sense of intimacy that Alicia establishes and shares with the listener.
Over the course of three LP’s - Without The World, Dear and Unfamiliar and the stunning Winter Lady - and several EP’s and collaborations, birds of passage has been creating a captivating journey through the landscapes of Alicia’semotional euphoria and agony. The new album is a further commitment to musical experimentation where the cold minimalist-drones and the darker tones go even deeper and penetrate your skin and that music will become first an extension of you…slowly it will be part of you.
The album opens with the gently ‘Ashes To Ashes’, a track where drone and ambient-swept passages alternate with the Merz’s vocal creating a charming melody and an incredibly affecting atmosphere before the gorgeous ‘Belle De Jour’ that might easily be one of the most beautiful track I’ve heard in a long while. Alicia’s sensual and captivating voice dominates all the first half of the song; towards the end soft acoustic guitars rise and the song ends with a beautiful ballade where there are no boundaries between the voice and the instruments like in a dance of swallows at the horizon.
Something happens with the following ‘And All Of Your Dreams’, a relatively short song where distorted guitars and the guitar drone give a deeper dimension. The mood changes and there’s a veil of sadness permeating the whole piece.
The journey through This Kindly Slumber continues with ‘Stranger’ and its cold minimalism that fans of Alicia should know very well at this point – Winter Lady is maybe the album where her minimalism achieves its maximum.
At the first listening the seven tracks of the record appear similar - many of the songs evolve in the same, predictable way - but, if you listen to them again and again, you’ll discover that each piece has its own character. It will happen then that you’ll experience several feelings throughout the album: the tone in ‘Stranger’ is determined and quite pessimistic meanwhile the beautiful arpeggio of ‘Take My Breathe’ has definitely a more optimistic atmosphere and it’s powerful like a force of nature. ‘Yesterday’s Stains’ has the same good mood and here the composer introduces for the first time lovely piano chords to the lazy and soft melodies that are typical of the Alicia’s dreamscapes.
The closing ‘Lonesome Tame’ is really a work of art and it’s the proof of the composer’s artistry. Ten minutes are not enough for this piece that is so dark in tones that has a beautiful glacial effect on the listener. The sequel of clear piano strokes are precise, they beat the rhythm and seem suspended in a space that is immense. And the song will continue in your mind even when it’s finished.
I enjoyed this album from the first time I listened to it and I felt in love again with the fascinating ethereal voice of Alicia Mertz. I do believe that she will conquer the most sensitive souls.
