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Shimmer
Planet: Welcome to Shimmer Planet
First, I must admit that Shimmerplanets Welcome to Shimmerplanet really took me by surprise. For some unfounded reason, I was expecting some sort of folky, new-agey guy-and-girl duet singer nonsense. While there are duets found within, they arent the syrupy kind. Instead, I was delighted to listen to a dark, lush, beautifully crafted album with overtones of trip-hop, Kid A Radiohead, and Moby. Shimmerplanet is the brainchild of songwriter/lyricist/keyboardist/vocalist John Fischer, who formed the group with vocalist Carolyn Eufrasio. Other instruments on the record (guitars, drums, bass) are provided by producer Blake Morgan and an array of other studio musicians. The result is a fascinating journey/conversation between a man and a woman caught in the mind games and fallout of the end days of a relationship. The trip-hop influence can be heard in several songs that contain sparse arrangements, jungle drum rhythms, atmospheric mood effects, and soaring female vocals. Often the sparseness of the verse contrasts a more powerful chorus that wallops the listener with a big, beautiful melody. Great examples include Happy, Radiant, and No Safe, all of which are dark, moody and atmospheric but ultimately memorable due to the grandeur and beauty of their choruses. Each of these songs also contains thoughtfully creative instrumentation Happy has rhythmic Latin percussion accentuating the refrain, Radiant has a trombone mixed into the background, and No Safe has an appropriately mournful cello carrying the melody. Everythings Perfect is Shimmerplanets version of a big rock song, and it shows how rock radio might benefit from embracing the idea of playfully tinkering with the structure of the traditional rock song (instead of mindlessly playing only songs that sound exactly the same all day long). It has a big, meaty rock guitar riff that periodically crashes in around Eufrasios vocals, which often stand alone over a great drum pattern. The chorus adds cello to a gently swelling melody as Eufrasio tries to convince herself of the stability of her failing love affair. Other standouts include the most hopeful song on the album, I Believe Im Going Home, a slow-burning ballad reminiscent of Moby with a beautiful female voice singing over slowly building keyboard patterns and a chorus featuring U2-style emotive guitar play. The duet, Envy, for the Fischer-sung verses, sounds like Tears for Fears before the big bombastic Nnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn-V! chorus and a very satisfying conclusion as the victim of the bad relationship documented over the course of the album finds self-confidence and thumbs her nose at her former lover. The ending coda to the album is a repeat of the hypnotic keyboard pattern from the introductory I Am Still Looking for You, as Eufrasio repeats a line from that song - I sleep with the radio on. So would I if it meant radio would play such deliciously moody, dark, intelligent music.
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