Rhine Gold

by Choir of Young Believers

Overview

"The Third Time" starts Choir of Young Believers' Rhine Gold with the promising combination of slow keyboard washes and drones and a sudden, sweeping (and not entirely falsetto) vocal, an appropriately momentous start to what feels like a very chilled listening experience -- like what Sigur Ros would sound like if they aimed for a bit of focused clarity. When a melody kicks in, it almost sounds like something from a historical epic from India, continuing to shift into a sweet, string-plucked descending bridge. The fact that "Patricia's Thirst" shifts into a post-punk squelch-bass-power pop number of sorts demonstrates how the production is key here, where the elements sound old but the mix and recombination feel agreeably new. While the album starts on a seemingly forbidding or at least dramatic note, what's interesting is how it balances out the reserved with the enveloping; a song like "Sedated" may have elements related to the title, but there's a constant buzz of activity, with the lead bass, steady piano in and out, sudden string bursts, and lead vocals carrying everything easily to a sweet chorus. "Have I Ever Truly Been Here" ends up taking a calm, epic rock touch based around acoustic elements, thanks to the backing washes introducing space -- Coldplay done right, in essence -- while "The Wind Is Blowing Needles" takes a quiet funk turn and the title track ends on a very slow, contemplative note, like the flipside of the opening in that it draws everything to a close, with strings swooping then holding a steady tenseness. Meanwhile, the combination of pure Motorik and snaky bass (not to mention the synth bursts and the singing) on "Paralyse" give a further sense of how elegantly they recombine -- especially when they suddenly but perfectly shift into a couple of drumless acoustic guitar/vocal breaks; at first straightforward, then slightly woozier/weirder toward the end, and finally moving into a slow final wind-down. ~ Ned Raggett

Product Details

Release Date:	04/10/2012
Label:	GHOSTLY INT'L
UPC:	0804297815312

Tracks

1. The Third Time
2. Patricia's Thirst
3. Sedated
4. Paralyze
5. Have I Ever Truly Been Here
6. Nye Nummer Et
7. Paint New Horrors
8. The Wind Is Blowing Needles
9. Rhine Gold

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Choir of Young Believers   Primary Artist
Casper Henning Hansen   Drums
Jakob Millung   Bass,Lap Steel Guitar,Vocals (Background)
Lesse Herbst   Percussion
Jannis Noya Makrigiannis   Guitar,Vocals,Keyboards
Bo Rande   Horn,Keyboards,Vocals (Background)
Rune Borup   Keyboards
Caecilie Trier   Cello,Vocals (Background)
Nis Bysted   Guitar
Aske Zidore   Guitar
Jep Brix Sorensen   Guitar
Sonja Labianea   Keyboards,Saxophone

Technical Credits

Casper Henning Hansen   Group Member
Jakob Millung   Group Member
Lesse Herbst   Group Member
Anders Schumann   Mastering
Jannis Noya Makrigiannis   Artwork,Group Member
Bo Rande   Group Member
Michael Cina   Artwork
Mikkel Gemzoe   Mastering
Rune Borup   Engineer
Caecilie Trier   Photography,Group Member
Nis Bysted   Mixing,Artwork,Engineer,Producer
Aske Zidore   Mixing,Engineer,Producer
Frederik Solberg   Photography
Peter Bysted   Photography
Nis Sigurdsson   Artwork
Sonja Labianea   Group Member