Hooverphonic
The Magnificent Tree

THE REVIEW

A Belgian trio that in 2000 ventured into a very unique album “The Magnificent Tree”, which I could dare to compare to the dimension of Portishead, I would say it is quite sustained and enhanced by the voice of singer Geike Arnaert, who effortlessly handles all 11 tracks, immersing herself in a not at all easy melody.

It is not an amazing album, but overall I would say it's good and different from many usual genres in circulation and thus deserves a solid three stars. It manages to convey sunny emotions while at the same time dark and nostalgic, I repeat and emphasize again, thanks to the amalgamation of Geike's voice with their set rhythm. Describing it… .

Autoharp – dark and strong track, a sort of chase on itself
Mad About You – very famous and “good” track, backbone of the entire album, excellent tone variations of Geike's voice and her way of delivering the piece, practically like an electrocardiogram, I find it very catchy, easy to hum along to its sunny choruses
Waves – beginning of bells or cowbells, and I found out with my musical ear, in my opinion, unfortunately, that this opening of the track is identical or “cloned” to that of "Plainsong” from Disintegration by The Cure (try listening to it, to believe) and it is therefore a small flaw, because for the rest of the track everything flows into a sort of fun on a small merry-go-round, sitting on typical horses that go up and down, while the wind tousles your hair
Jackie Cane – guitar in the foreground, melodic and imaginative rhythm, like from a soundtrack of the film “A Fistful of Dollars” where with the look and steady stride of Clint Eastwood is ready to shoot you Magnificent Tree sweetest, fresh, enchanting, in short… One must close their eyes to dream and thus be carried away
Vingar & Salt desire to understand the reason for so many absurd and incomprehensible things
Frosted Flakewood opening like a children's fairy tale, a frantic race in a park complete with joyful bird chirping, to play hide and seek behind the magic tree
Every Time We Live Together We Die a Bit More here you can find another excellent interpretation by Geike
Out of Sight this instead I find a track countercurrent to their style and canon, but equally very sweet and determined
Pink Fluffy Dinosaurs track hanging on the edge of the universe, immersed in stars, satellites and meteorites
L’odeur Animale and as a closing track, the desire and search for a well-deserved tranquility, I would say an escape from the chaos and daily stress, and from unjustifiable but above all undeserved gratuitous thoughts.

Overall, I would say it's an album not to be underestimated, it takes more listens for a final judgment, and then, you either like it or you don’t, there are no in-betweens. And as I have already written in a comment about Porcupine Tree, Giacomo Puccini wrote… .

'Music is the chosen homeland of those who know how to abstract themselves from the miseries of the world'