Everything Is Good Here/Please Come Home

by Angels of Light

Overview

Having created some of the strongest music in his life on the previous Angels of Light album, Michael Gira maintains the winning streak but explores a newer, more controlled delicacy on Everything is Good Here. It's hardly a new move for him, of course, but in ways this album, the third in the Angels of Light guise, finds his extremes of harrowing, wrenching music and performance, and a calmer, almost mystical approach, more integrated than ever before. The drama in his vocals and arrangements are more than ever implicit instead of directly blasting, to beautiful and powerful effect. "Palisades" sets this tone from the start, incorporating everything from backing choirs and dank, dark riffs to the quietest of arrangements into one cohesive performance. Other songs that hit the balance just right include "Nations," with its quiet, persistent vibes part a counterbalance to the more insistent guitars and piano, and the incredible "Sunset Park," with the words delivered as a steady mantra over a surging, slow burn performance that feels like a triumphant march. Gira's gift for ritualistic theatricality certainly hasn't left him, as even a casual listen to the increasingly frenetic "All Souls' Rising" -- keep an ear out for the almost stabbing vocal bursts -- or the even more freaked out "Rose of Los Angeles" show. On the quieter side through and through, "What You Were," with Gira's cracking vocals and piano providing the centerpiece, is the album's hidden treasure, the lyrics of loss, regret, and mystery particularly compelling. Both Gira's core backing musicians, and the many guests throughout, contribute incalculably to the end result, whether it's Larry Mullins' always excellent percussion, or David Coulter's work with everything from violin ("Kosinski") to a children's choir. ~ Ned Raggett

Product Details

Release Date:	03/04/2003
Label:	YOUNG GOD RECORDS
UPC:	0658457002223

Tracks

1. Palisades
2. All Souls' Rising
3. Kosinski
4. Nations
5. The Family God
6. Because She Was
7. Rose of Los Angeles
8. What You Were
9. Sunset Park
10. Wedding
11. What Will Come

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Angels of Light   Primary Artist
Siobhan Duffy   Vocals,Voices
Eszter Balint   Violin
Thor Harris   Piano,Vocals,Voices,Dulcimer,Percussion,Vibraphone
Joe McGinty   Piano,Keyboards,Fender Rhodes
Devendra Banhart   Vocals,Voices
Michael Gira   Piano,Vocals,Voices,Harmonica,Guitar (Acoustic),Guitar (Electric),Various Instruments
Steve Moses   Trombone
David Garland   Flute,Accordion
David Coulter   Banjo,Drones,Violin,Children's Chorus
Larry Mullins   Drums,Vocals,Voices,Percussion,Vibraphone,Synthesizer,Farfisa Organ
Kevin O'Connor   Banjo
DC   Director,Conductor
Christopher Hahn   Lap Steel Guitar,Guitar (Electric)
Larry Moses   Trumpet

Technical Credits

Ben Kirkendoll   Layout Design
Martin Bisi   Engineer
Michael Gira   Design,Sounds,Composer,Producer
Miklos Rozsa   Composer
Doug Henderson   Mastering
DC   Arranger
Jason LaFarge   Engineer,Recording,Transfers
Siobhan Duffy   Images