After his rather self-explanatory album Fuck the War (which included a little jewel entitled Butterflies), Ralph Buckley makes a spectacular comeback with an album that bears a deceptively colourful cartoon figure on the cover, and the equally deceptive title cocoa krispies & lucky charms.
A pretty but somewhat disturbing cover, a mysterious title... and twelve beautiful acoustic ballads, with very nice lyrics and a voice that caresses the ears. The fragility of the fallen doll on the cover is reflected in the sensitive melodiousness of the songs.
Dreamy melodies ranging from jazzy to ambient-electro. The voice is beautiful, warm and sensual; the slow-moving rhythms and almost whispered words have a calming, soothing effect. Dysphoria is an ominous note in the heart of the sweetness, a menacing but not unwelcome agitation of the waters.
Besides being the stunningly mature and elaborate work of a young prodigy, Music of Youth by The Melchiades Estrada Band constitutes also a historical point of reference for digitally composed music, since the medium used for the creation of these tracks (Protracker on an Amiga) is now obsolete. But the artistic value of this work is undeniable as well, demonstrating the composer's absolute mastery of his material and means.
Well, in fact this is a single that doesn't take itself too seriously, and for me at least, the cover is a clear indication of that. It's sensual in an ironical, self-deprecating way, and all that pink (strawberry and stuff) gives a note of exaggeration which I dare say was intentional.
This isn't usually the kind of music I listen to, but I was attracted by the black humor of the cover. The 1-hour track begins with a rhythm and female vocals that have a kind of dreamy quality, only for the rhythm to become gradually more energetic and invite the listeners to dance, or simply get immersed in the ambience and enjoy.
An album of strangely seductive melodies - sweet sonorities with an epic and poignant, or at times even violent touch, an element of originality and some unexpected "turns of phrase".
Nice voice and lyrics, a good guitar and warm melodies. The style and vocals remind me somehow of Lou Reed.
Maybe because of the initial cover that had to be replaced by the (very nice) current one, the title of this album always makes me think of The Beast Within - second episode of the Gabriel Knight game trilogy, which tells the story of a forbidden passion and of a fight for life and principles. The hero's internal conflict is as powerful as the struggle against the enemy; and when the enemy also exerts a fatal attraction on his rival, the fight becomes a lot more than a matter of life and death.
A very sweet and original album, conveying the alternating ambiences for the four seasons of love in a descriptive and at the same time pleasantly abstract and figurative way.
