Another husband and wife team. Karen Peris is as much poet as musician: lyrics here.
Much more music, poetry, and information at their web site. If you're a regular reader of this blog, you know what I think of them; if not, this review will give you an idea.
Went to the website and saw they have a new CD, from July. It went straight into my amazon basket. I originally heard of them here, and got one, and didn’t like it (the little girly voice), but it slowly grew on me. When my mother was staying with me, it was almost the only one of my CDs that she liked.
I was about to get it from eMusic the other day (instant gratification!) and then decided to buy the cd instead, in what I hope is not the deluded idea that they will get a bit more money that way. Also Rob G tells me the lyrics are included, which is handy, because I can’t always understand her. (They’re online but having them with the cd is convenient.) I’ve had trouble with that quality of her voice, too, but have gotten used to it. Interesting how far away from that mike she is in this video–her voice must be louder than I would have thought. Of course it’s probably a really really good mike, too.
I listen to both their CDs that I have so far very often. The voice takes a little getting used to, but there’s nothing wrong with it.
Which ones do you have? I’m still missing Birds of My Neighborhood–I think that’s the only one apart from the new one. It was out of print for a while but I think is back now. Maybe I’ll just order them both from Amazon. So far Befriended and We Walked in Song are my favorites. Their first 3 or 4 are more electric and although they’re good not as deeply good as those two, to my taste.
I’ve got ‘We Walked in Song’ and ‘Birds of my Neighbourhood’. The latter is lovely – I personally prefer it to the 1st one.
“Glow” was #3 and the last “electric” one, and it was more quiet than the first two. Their 2nd one, “Umbrella,” is one of my favorite albums of the 90s.
“Birds of My Neighborhood” was the first acoustic album. I think it came out in 1999 originally. They also did a B-side record called “Small Planes” which is very good–it features songs recorded at various times during their later history and is mostly acoustic. It came out in ’01 or ’02.
I was also going to ask if you had heard the new one. I got it from eMusic a week or two ago, but I haven’t had an opportunity yet to hear it.
My favourite IM album is probably still “Glow”. I prefer the acoustic textures of the later records, but there are some songs on “Glow” that get me every time.
I don’t know “Glow” very well, actually. I haven’t listened to it as much because the basic sound didn’t draw me in the way for instance “Befriended” did. Eventually I’ll correct that.
The new one is excellent — very similar to the last couple with the exception that on a few songs there’s violin or cello. I got it the first day it came out and I’ve listened to it 3x since then – it really grows on you.
I ordered it last night, along with Birds of My Neighborhood. Interestingly, I had put the new one in my Amazon cart on Friday, but not placed the order, and between Friday and Sunday the price went up by a dollar. I hope that means it’s in demand. Meant to pick up Glow on my way out the door this morning and listen to it on the way to work, but I forgot.
I ordered a couple, too.
AMDG
The songs I like so much on Glow are “Keeping Awake” (especially that line about hearing the voice “coming up over the stairs”; I remember that feeling), “Our Harry”, and “Happy, The End”. All three are songs about childhood. I think few people have been able to capture the special feelings of childhood in song as well as Karen Peris.
My daughter, who was three when Glow came out, really liked ‘Keeping Awake’ and ‘Bright As Yellow’ —
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eA4ZfLzy1VM&feature=av2e
I listened to Glow on the way to work, or rather to the first 5 or 6 songs. I’m going to like it. Don Peris seems to have really been studying his Robin Guthrie in those days, and I really like a lot of the guitar work, but I think the less electric, more “woody” sound that they moved to after that album serves the songs and Karen’s voice better. I wonder if Don would like to rock occasionally–I think it was “Speak Our Minds” that caused that thought to cross my mind.
When I listen to this song, I always think that I shouldn’t have quit playing the guitar.
Speaking of rocking. There was a band at the 50th Anniversary party we went to Saturday and the guitarist was really great. It’s been a long time since I heard any live music.
AMDG
In retrospect it seems obvious that Glow was a transition record of sorts. One finds the same sort of thing on Small Planes, the “lost songs” record that came out in 2001, as it contains songs from the mid-90’s through 2001. It’s actually quite cohesive though, and contains some real gems, including the song “Migration,” which has the lyric line from which the Birds of My Neighborhood album took its title:
My love will sail this ship
through great storms and ice floes.
He is not afraid as I am,
he is not afraid.
And this is why he knows the way.
And this is why he knows the way.
He knows the way.
Oh my brothers and sisters, he is so kind,
despite the losses that have made us this sad.
Five blocks of sidewalk chalk he steers us clear of,
blue ice skaters and animals.
And this is why he knows the way.
And this is why he knows the way.
He knows the way.
All the birds of this neighborhood are leaving.
Some days we feel left behind.
I’ve only listened to Small Planes a couple of times, and that not very attentively, but that song stood out, especially the line “He knows the way.”
I’m about halfway through the new one now. It’s very good. I won’t compare it to the others until I’ve heard it more, but I suspect whether one prefers it, Befriended, or We Walked in Song will just depend on which songs happen to hit the spot–I mean, they seem pretty even in quality, considered semi-objectively.
Having listened to the previous three ‘acoustic’ records any number of times, and the new one at least thrice, I’d have to say that ‘We Walked in Song’ is my least favorite of the four — not as many songs on that one “grab” me. This is not to say that I dislike it, of course.
Ok, mine too, now. No, I hadn’t seen it–thanks.
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Spam!
Obviously, Louise, we are going to have to teach you the code. 😉
AMDG
Kartoffeln auf krankenhaus. Schnell mit ausgehenden weltschmerz, keine mond nacht gelieben.
Because of the Brotherhood of Man we can communicate in these diverse modes.
AMDG
Because, you know:
Nunca puedo decir lo que significo
pero usted entenderá
AMDG
Maybe it’s Pentecost.
True, you can’t say what I mean.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a7Lzvq_m918
Nice cover of one of IM’s best tunes by a French duo (!). Found this by accident while looking for something else.
BTW, I read an interview with them recently where Karen said they don’t play out much anymore, because her voice gets tired and strained quickly nowadays. I had the good fortune to see them 3x live, twice in their earlier ‘rock’ manifestation and once more recently as an acoustic trio.
Hmm, apparently I failed to hit ‘post’ on a comment a little while ago. Well, what it said was that this is very nice, and I never would have guessed they’re not American.
Someone had a link to that interview here. They certainly seem very far from the rock star mentality.
Well, not just star, but rock musician in general.
“new” Innocence Mission video — newly posted, that is. It’s from their 2nd album, ‘Umbrella’ — the vid is blurry (looks like it’s off a TV broadcast or video) and the sound’s got a little hum, but, man, what a great song. One of their best, imo.
“This is a day for hearing bagpipes
somewhere playing.
This is a day for hearing sarabandes
and hiding away.”
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JfynJ56Z0vw
That is great. I love the lyrics and I wish she had always sung like that.
AMDG
That is great–thanks. They sure had soaked up a lot of Cocteau Twins, down to the sort of abrupt hanging ending. I love the video, too. Especially the umbrella.
Wasn’t ‘Umbrella’ the record that was produced by Larry Klein? I wonder how much of the ‘Cocteau’ thing was his doing? I’ve talked to Karen & Don briefly a couple times after shows — if I get the chance again sometime I’m going to ask them that.
It seems to me that as she got older her voice got more delicate. I’m not sure whether it was a conscious change in singing style between then and now or the fact that ‘belting it out’ took a toll on her voice.
Yes, I’m pretty sure it was. No idea of course as to the source of the CT influence. And you’re right, I was thinking along the same lines about her voice. I hadn’t heard this for a while and was a little surprised by how strong her voice is. I think I need to buy this on cd or mp3–all I have is a tape, which may have been used, I can’t remember, and maybe part of the sort of crushed sound quality that I’ve always attributed to the production is actually just plain bad audio.
You’re probably right about the bad sound being related to the tape. The recording sounds great on CD.
I hadn’t thought that I miss my CDs and my CD player till I heard this.
Just not unpacked, I hope? Not lost over the Atlantic? Or did you have to leave them behind?
I have lots of CDs to share if someone first sends me Mac’s stereo system.
Great, now I have to install burglar alarms.
It’s sad that Craig is trying to incite me to a life of crime by creating a competition between Francesca and me. You don’t have to install a burglar alarm for me, you know, because I’m so clumsy that I’m my own burglar alarm.
AMDG
I guess it’s because he’s run out of episodes of The Wire to watch, and now he’s trying to generate some true-crime action.
Crime? I prefer to think of it as free trade.
Or is it at the other end of the political spectrum: expropriation?
My stuff I had shipped doesn’t get here until the end of February. Everyone told me it would take a month, so I brought a suitcase and an overnight case worth of stuff. I have got a choice of teaching in my combat jeans, cords with a hole on the knee, cords with a large bleach stain below the knee, and really thin nylon cycling pants. So I do miss (some of my) clothes slightly. I miss my blankets and eiderdowns more than that. I miss my two teapots. I miss my radio and CD player. The one thing I don’t miss at all is my books!
A month?!? Seems unreasonable in this day of air freight for everything. The cats are here, right?
No Mac, the point is that I was told a month, but it will take two months. It was all shipped out of Aberdeen on 20 December. Two months really does seem unreasonable to me. But of course being English I have not complained.
Even worse! (obviously)
Yeah, a true American would probably sue somebody…:-(
Well, I do miss my CDs, but I’m just playing all the songs Dan puts up on FB instead! That’s literally true. It has something of the effect of radio, because the sequence and contents are not chosen by me. So some are old favourites and some I’ve never heard of, just like th radio. There are also surprises within the ‘knowns’ – I don’t remember ‘Expecting to Fly’ sounding like that AT ALL.
Francesca, You might want to check out this: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?live=1&refresh=true&storyId=129729686
They are streaming all the songs that have ever been played on National Public Radio’s “All Songs Considered.”
AMDG
I will try that, Janet.
Light On Dark Water 
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