Balmorhea - Lament

It's definitely not easy to be an acoustic piano-ambient band and stay on a level of originality for a long time. The options are often limited: you are expected to play gentle, simple sounds which soon become each others' copies. Success is limited too: you're not recognized as a 'real' classical music composer, and even a capacious alternative scene won't apprecitate your efforts. Of course unless you have imagination comparable with Balmorhea.

The idea was plain: to cross the gap between humble folk, warm electronica and contemporary classics. Add banjo here and cello there, stay on 'unplugged' mode and yet be creative. Results? Well, thankfully, balmorheans avoided pure laziness of all minimalistic artists who make people fall asleep. I'd say they've recored something more than just another CD to use during Saturday siesta. Songs from 'Rivers Arms' are somewheat demanding: without cerain degree of attention they won't pay back for the time spent with them.

'Lament' is possibly the best track to begin with. Melodiously convincing from the beggining and a bit catchy in it's melancholic way, it leaves just the same little pleasant impression that only good songs may provide. Since Balmorhea is not pretending to write pseudo-epic tracks I'm content to see one more band far from being fussy.

Balmorhea - Lament

Artist: Balmorhea
Album: Rivers Arms (2007)
Track: Lament
Track Number: 2
Track Length: 3:37
Labels: Western Vinyl (USA)