lush

No Rest

admin — Mon, 05 Apr 2010 16:01:00 +0000

Brooklyn songstress roommates, longtime collaborators, and bestie brunettes Christy Edwards and Emily Manzo have hipster cred out the wazoo. So do loads of other borough-based bands, but few have the raw talent of these two singer-songwriter women—a label that hardly defines the true depth of their talent. Their music, at times hauntingly sparse, reverberates with their lush voices and minimal instrumentation, often just Christy’s guitar or Emily’s keyboard. Sound cloying? The opposite is true. There is nothing pretentious or difficult about this album.

On No Rest, their second release this year, the gals focus on teasing out their folk influences, veering away from their psychedelic roots. At the same time, they maintain their sound experimentation and focus less on complicated lyrics. Lines like “Why not live a life of truth/Like your siblings” could be as autobiographical as they could be creative poetry put to music. No matter that their words are uncomplicated; every sound out of their mouths is truly beautiful, and there is additional beauty in simplicity.

“Idle Hands” has some of the best rhythmic composition on the album and draws to mind a more serious Girls Guitar Club, starting Christy and Emily instead of Karen Kilgariff & Mary Lynn Rajskub.

“Here Comes the Water Now” is a nod to natural disaster—and how unfortunately timely. The nearly rhyming lyrics—which pay off at the end—kept me fully engaged with the story as well as the music.

Better decide on what to bring Take a look around at everything There’s only so much time will allow Here comes the water... now

Closing track “Amaryllis”—which is coincidentally my favorite flower—uses the annual as a metaphor for periods of light and darkness. If you’ve never cared for these bulbous houseplants, just know that they’re like any other bulb. After blooming in the spring, they require months of darkness during the winter. In my experience, this typically means putting them in a large paper bag and tucking them in a dark corner until the springtime frost has vanished. C&E no doubt like these big horn-shaped flowers, as they’ve dedicated a whole song to them and sing, “Oh how lovely the plant you keep in the dark.”

From the album’s opening line—“I’m not scared of what I can’t see anymore”—to the sonic waves, gorgeous vocals, and wind chime-type sound effects, this album will mesmerize you. Let it.

Written by: Brittany Shoot, April 5th 2010

The "Happy" Collection

admin — Thu, 02 Jul 2009 17:19:00 +0000

By LUSH

As if anyone needs an excuse to spend more time under a hot shower—well, here's another, or five others—each a more compelling reason to recreationally cleanse. LUSH produces fresh, hand-made cruelty-and-lard-free and frequently vegan personal care products. All bathbombs, gels, soaps, shampoos, and other innovative items are individually made by skilled suds people—Sara, Czarina, and Reggie contributed to my 'happy' package. They offer over ten score individual products—currently made and sold within four months, or available online as 'retro'—have their own superhero in a bright green leotard, and like baby harp seals.

Seeing that Clorox owns Burt's Bees, Estee Lauder owns Aveda, L'Oreal owns the Body Shop, Unilever owns Ben & Jerry's, and Cadbury's owns Green & Black, it's refreshing to find a small, organic-product organization that appears to own their own. As Billie Holiday sang, “... God bless the child.” This kid was happy to lather with the 'Happy Hippy' shower gel—the bodywashes also work as shampoos, and LUSH sells some shampoos as bars in a mission to keep packaging to a minimum. Over two-thirds of their products are unwrapped and unboxed, and one of their news releases posits that if twenty percent of the United States population started using solid shampoo, twenty-two million plastic bottles would be removed from landfills.

I did stockpile some buy-one-get-one hair cleansers and products, but once they're depleted, if I need an ecologically sound rationalization for self-care, there's another, not to mention that the bracing citrus scents in this set made me—well, if not happy, at least punctured existential malaise and effectively combated ennui. I wonder if they have an enlightening moisturizer or helpful hand lotion?

Gift set pictured is foot care collection. The Happy Collection is another combination of products.

Written by: Erika Mikkalo, July 2nd 2009

(a)spera

admin — Sun, 19 Apr 2009 10:39:00 +0000

By Mirah

K Records

Lush, sonic waves are a departure from the four-track loving woman who previously sang about an anonymous character—“Person Person”—and this is where we must weigh in on what I’ll call the Jefferson debate. Perhaps you’re old enough to have been a Jefferson Airplane fan back when Grace Slick’s voice hadn’t been co-opted by '80s synth. Perhaps you don’t think it was fair for the band to switch directions and keep the Jefferson moniker when Starship was born. If you stick with a band long enough, you’ll either grow alongside them, appreciating their subtle changes. Alternately, you’ll curse your longtime favorite for selling out, or not staying the known course.

This is an extreme example, for Ms. Zeitlyn is not Ms. Slick, nor has she become a psych rocker writing songs about how cities were built. But both women are known in their respective communities for their striking vocals and full-bodied work. (a)spera, while absolutely beautiful, is not 2000’s You Think It's Like This but Really It's Like This. To expect such would be unfair.

Recession-appropriate “Generosity” finds Mirah debating whether to give or take. In fact, much of the album could be viewed in light of our current global financial situation—songs like “The World is Falling” and “Country of the Future” among the potentially ominously-titled tracks—but then, are album reviews always supposed to be so contextual? Maybe the Mirah conglomerate is always tossing around ideas about pre-apocalyptic times, regret, and scarcity. Maybe as you age, your worldview simply becomes more jaded.

The album is a hopeful melancholy with a bright spots. “Gone Are The Days” features a horn section that would make any airport lounge jazz-fusion band jealous. “Bones and Skin,” while somber, encourages you to approach your own demons, to not forget who you are. “While We Have The Sun” encourages outdoor walks because, “You never know when temperamental weather’s gonna come.” The song also offers some hope to overachievers, promising (or reminding), “It’s not up to you to make the flowers wilt or bloom.”

It’s easy to forget how long twelve years can be. Some of us live several lifetimes in that span. It isn’t so strange that in some ways, Mirah has journeyed so far from her roots. While I have no qualms with her new (a)spirations, my hope is that she’ll soon circle back.

Written by: Brittany Shoot, April 19th 2009

Feels Like Home

admin — Fri, 24 Nov 2006 13:02:00 +0000

By Jessica Bailiff

Kranky

Feels Like Home really does feel like home. Jessica Bailiff’s folky sounds and soothing voice are more toned down from her previous albums Even in Silence (1998), Hour of the Trace (1999) and her self-titled release in 2002. In the past, Bailiff’s shielded her softness with harsh sounds. Here, Bailiff has stripped down and makes her music truly inviting. Beautiful pianos, set before a mystical backdrop, are mixed with electric guitars and simple acoustic chords. This creates a warm space, a perfect companion for reflection and relaxation. Songs like "What’s in Your Mind" and "Cinq" are haunting and dream-like. "If We Could" is reminiscent of her previous works, combining harsh sounding guitars with soothing lyrics. The music is in fact, so beautiful, that it leaves you wanting much, much more; most songs on the album are less than three minutes, but have the potential to go on for much longer. That is not to say this album is a light snack. It is lush, exotic, and mystical. And it is definitely worth a listen.

Written by: Cheryl Santa Maria, November 24th 2006