Lunar Hypnosis review of The Spirit Girls

The Spirit Girls - Forever Free
Trakwerx/End Is Here Records - 2006
1. Anthem For ofelia
2. Milk Maid
3. The Hunted Little Green Grass Girl
4. Comforting The Bears
5. Small Town
6. Airstream Dream
7. Haunted Horse
8. Graveyard Song
9. Song For The spirit Girls
10. The Ship Song

This is the release CD by a band called "The Spirit Girls" which apparently have caused quite a buzz in their native California. Comprised of 5 female members, this band's music is firmly entrenched in what would be considered "avant-garde" music these days.

This band grew out of a rock opera called "The Spirit Girls: Songs That Never Die" by Marnie Weber. I had never heard of such a piece of work myself, but for some this will be familiar.

Simply judging this band by the cover should give you pretty much a good idea of what they are about, because the cover and the artwork alone remind me so much of some of the art that used to be prevalent in the 70s with some of the prog bands.

The music then more or less follows the artwork on the cover and the rest of the CD. This is pretty much music that will not follow the ordinary path and thus cannot be considered commercial. The backbone of all the songs on this CD are more or less morose and laid back vocals by most of the members of this ensemble, accompanied by all kinds of keyboards and of all things a cello, which makes the music even more laid back but also gives it a more or less restless character.

For me the song that easily stands out the most is "graveyard Song" which reminded me so much of parts of the fantastic Tiamat "Wildhoney" album with the laid back guitars and the ever present. Immediately after that song they switch to a track that reminds me of some of the experimental punk music in the 80s with bands like "Chrome" with the added ambiance by the cello sound.

If you think you will be getting a happy go along album in the vein of the old Tom Tom Club you are in for a surprise. These women can actually play and all the compositions have a very strong personality, making this an album that you have to pay attention to.

Finally, in my opinion they did a fantastic job in the actual recording of the whole enchilada. This sounds pretty much like a true stereo album, just like the ones they used to do in the 70s on vinyl. Why? Because in addition to the excellent sound across the board they actually mixed it up with both vocals and sound effects going from side to side as well as all over the soundstage the recording creates. This of course does not make it a "live" sounding CD, but definitely complements the music to perfection.

January 6, 2007
By Carlos
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