A Thousand Shark's Teeth

A Thousand Shark's Teeth

by My Brightest Diamond
A Thousand Shark's Teeth

A Thousand Shark's Teeth

by My Brightest Diamond

CD

$15.99 
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Overview

It's not surprising that My Brightest Diamond's second album was originally intended to be a string quartet-based work, or that it was six years in the making. A Thousand Shark's Teeth is much more orchestrated, polished, and ambitious than Bring Me the Workhorse, and draws even more from Shara Worden's classical training (as well as the work of Maurice Ravel, Tricky, Tom Waits, and painter Anselm Kiefer). The album's elegant instrumentation and arrangements are nothing if not impressive, whether they're relatively simple, as on "If I Were Queen," which concentrates on Worden's immaculate soprano and pizzicato strings, or lavish, as on "Inside a Boy," where chilly strings and keyboards rise to meet Worden's ice princess vocals. However, A Thousand Shark's Teeth sacrifices some of the playfulness and energy that made Bring Me the Workhorse so compelling, and at times Worden's ambitions come close to getting the better of her. "Apples"' plinking percussion -- which owes as much to Evelyn Glennie as it does to Tom Waits -- makes day-to-day chores like folding laundry sound like performance art, and as eerily lovely as "Black & Coustaud" is, its frosty cabaret whimsy is so theatrical that it vaguely resembles an avant-garde show tune. Strangely, despite the album's elaborate scope, at times A Thousand Shark's Teeth is too subtle to make a strong initial impression. However, when the album does connect -- usually when the arrangements and melodies are more direct -- the results are stunning. "From the Top of the World" warms up the mostly frosty sonics and resembles a distant, darker cousin of '60s symphonic pop, a feeling echoed by "To Pluto's Moon," which channels John Barry and Portishead into a goth spy theme. "Bass Player"'s smoky sensuality makes it another standout, while "The Diamond" and "Ice & the Storm" are immediately accessible without compromising the album's lofty themes and sounds. Big ambition means the potential for an equally big failure, and while that's not the case on A Thousand Shark's Teeth, the album is sometimes too over-thought for its own good. Arguably, it's more interesting for Worden to bring some of her high art background to a pop context, as she did on Bring Me the Workhorse, than vice versa. As it stands, A Thousand Shark's Teeth is beautiful, more than a little insular, and ultimately intriguing for anyone willing to listen closely. ~ Heather Phares

Product Details

Release Date: 06/17/2008
Label: Asthmatic Kitty
UPC: 0656605604626
Rank: 132147

Tracks

  1. Inside a Boy
  2. The Ice & the Storm
  3. If I Were Queen
  4. Apples
  5. From the Top of the World
  6. Black & Costaud
  7. To Pluto's Moon
  8. Bass Player
  9. Goodbye Forever
  10. Like a Sieve
  11. The Brightest Diamond

Album Credits

Performance Credits

My Brightest Diamond   Primary Artist
Alan Douches   Sequencing
Hiroko Taguchi   Violin
Sebastian Krueger   Clarinet,Clarinet (Bass)
Michael Atkinson   French Horn
Sxip Shirey   Sound Effects,Toy Instruments
Olivier Manchon   Violin
Jody Redhage   Cello
Susan Perelman   Violin
Gary Stith   Timpani
David Cossin   Gong,Bells,Waterphone
Chris Bruce   Bass
Zac Rae   Guitar,Marimba,Keyboards,Pump Organ,Vibraphone,Guitar (Baritone)
Shara Worden   Kalimba,Keyboards,Music Box,Percussion,Pump Organ,Piano,Guitar,Vocals,Horn Engineer
Thomas Kozumplik   Marimba
Maria Jeffers   Cello,Strings
Julianne Carney   Strings
Ben Lanz   Trumpet,Trombone
Nathan Lithgow   Double Bass
Ian Smit   Guitar
Garrett Ward   Marimba
Maeve Gilchrist   Harp
Rachael Elliott   Bassoon
David Stith   Vocals (Background)
Nadia Sirota   Viola
Earl Harvin   Drums
Joel Shearer   Guitar
Marla Hansen   Viola,Strings
Rob Moose   Violin,Strings

Technical Credits

Alan Douches   Editing
Matt Wignall   Photography
Alex Venguer   Bass Engineer,String Engineer
Padma Newsome   String Arrangements
Chris Bruce   Bass Engineer
Zac Rae   Guitar Engineer,Keyboard Engineer
Shara Worden   Arranger,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Hair Stylist,Art Direction,String Arrangements
Giovanni Nicoletta   Drum Engineering,Organ Technician
Joel Hamburger   Engineer,Bass Engineer,Vocal Engineer,String Engineer
Rachael Elliott   Arranger
Shuichi Morita   String Engineer
James Worden   Photo Assistance
Joseph DeJarnette   String Engineer
David Stith   Design,Drawing,Layout Design
Dina Gregg   Make-Up
Sufjan Stevens   Guitar Engineer
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