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Rating: That there were not great relationships and different visions of life between the two Lambs (you remember them, right?) was known and noticeable even live (you didn't miss them, did you???): she was shy and focused on the melody, the singing, and on her very simple yet dense words; he was always engaged in drawing the audience in with percussions that brought the sound back to the primary social function of music, at times forced (but always sashaying like one of those insipid boybands) by the programming of the most technological machines.
Now that the lights on the duo have dimmed, Lou does it all on her own. She founded a label that will produce music independently, even if it’s not hers. It's called Infinite Bloom Recordings.
The first creation is precisely "Beloved One".
Let's say it right away, there's no trace of electronics. On the contrary, it is the acoustic guitars, violins, and accordions that dominate. So much so that it's easy to imagine Lou and her band recording the album in some remote location among the woods, lulled by the sound of a river, protected by wood and bricks, and dressed in fabrics and wool. The melodies are overall autumnal, intimate, and passionate, but this is probably expected given her responsibility in Lamb. The new element, which at this point is slightly predictable, is that listening to Lou Rhodes' new work brings to mind more Michelle Shocked, Ani DiFranco, and Suzanne Vega than Massive Attack or Portishead. The muted and plucked guitar in "Tremble" (perhaps a single?) directly recalls the playing style of the prolific author from Buffalo. "Fortress" has the atmosphere of an American folk song, perfect for warming up on a long night and cooking a frugal dish by a bonfire. Particularly the percussion and the violins in "No Rerun" recall Loreena McKennitt from "The Mask and The Mirror". In the tense title track, European and North American folk elements are well mixed. "Inlakesh" might even remind you of those Led Zeppelins in love with Maghrebian atmospheres with its determined but lazy percussions, and it's easy to sip a hot mint tea to it. The strings accompany the pain of the end of a feeling in "To Survive". Acoustic guitar chords (of course!) perhaps too predictable in the final crescendo track ("Why") are nonetheless forgiven thanks to Rhodes' singing in a state of grace. For those who know how to wait, a brief vocal pearl awaits.
Perhaps it lacks a certain ingenuity typical of the Lambs as in (for example) "B-Line", but Rhodes' solo album seems to gain (and it wasn't easy!) in passion. To indulge in the tremulous, velvety, and warm voice of Louise that has never ceased to enchant me.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Tremble (02:54)
When you look at me
I'm as shaky as a leaf
On a new tree
One look in your eyes
And you make me
Tremble
You have something rare
Ah you take me to a place
I've never known before
Oh the magic that we share
Oh it makes me makes me
Tremble, yeah
And when you hold my hand
Oh I could dust with joy
Baby understand
I never felt this way with any other boy
Darlin', pity me
Tho' there's no place on this earth
I'd rather be
Hmmm and all the world can see
How you make me make me
Tremble
How you make me make me
Tremble, yeah, yeah
How you make me make me
Tremble
Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah...
03 Treat Her Gently (04:11)
Something that you said just stuck in my throat
Made me fall apart and wrythe in pain
Could it be the one I love could hate me so
And will I find the love I lost again
All in a day
And the cruel things we say
Love runs away
If you don't
Treat her gently, oh
Sticks and stones will break my bones but now I know
Your words go so much deeper down inside
Now every dream we ever had has turned to stone
You'll never know the rivers that I cried
All in a day
And the cruel things we say
Love runs away
If you don't
Treat her gently, oh
All in a day yeah
And the cruel things we say
Love runs away
If you don't
Treat her gently, oh
04 Fortress (04:11)
She was alone for so long
That her heart built a wall
And all who tried to get in
Coudln't even go near
Yet deep inside that fortress
Was a lost little girl
Crying out to be seen
And to love tenderly
He had journeyed so far
Noone's foul would he be
And every moment he swore
That his heart would stay free
Yet deep inside that wanderer
Was a lost little boy
Crying out to be seen
And to love tenderly
Seems to me the child in all of us
Is not so very small
Longing to lie in arms of love
And give our one and all
And it's such a precious blessing
When real love comes to call
But we'd rather build a fortress
Than break down all our walls
She fell apart at the seams
When his love came along
He didn't know what to feel
'Cause he felt it so strong
Seems to me the child in all of us
Is not so very small
Longing to lie in arms of love
And give our one and all
And it's such a precious blessing
When real love comes to call
But we'd rather build a fortress
Than break down all our walls
And it's such a precious blessing
When real love comes to call
But we'd rather build a fortress
Than break down all our walls
Yes we'd rather build a fortress
Than break down all our walls
05 No Rerun (03:19)
Did you ever wake one day and
Wonder what you'd lost
Was your life a hidden dream that
Only now you know the cost
There is no re-run
Won't you hear me true
Do what's yours to be done
And the world she smiles on you
Did you ever love someone and
Never let them know
Emotion bursting at you seams but
Too afraid to let it show
There is no re-run
Won't you hear me true
Live second to none
And the world she smiles on you
Don't you know you're a blessing
Put upon this earth
Can't you hear her calling
Realise your true worth
Are you gonna live your life or
Let it slept away
So busy waiting for tomorrow that you
Miss today
There is no re-run
Won't you hear me true
Sell your dream for no-one
And the world she smiles on you
Oh there is no re-run
Won't you hear me true
Turn bright as the sun
And the world she smiles on you
08 Inlakesh (03:57)
Could anyone be
As in love as me
And could another's eyes
Shine like yours
Lover and loved
A ruby in the sun
Heaven and earth
Join as one
In'lakesh, In'lakesh, In'lakesh
In'lakesh, In'lakesh, In'lakesh
Moon on the water
Stillness in my mind
That's what I find
With your love in me, oh
In every breath I take
Each thing I see
You are there with me, tenderly
In'lakesh, In'lakesh, In'lakesh
In'lakesh, In'lakesh, In'lakesh...
Could anyone be
As in love as me
(no, no, no...)
And could another's eyes
Shine like yours
09 To Survive (04:03)
Wish I could run away from this pain I feel
Falling out of love can be so unreal
It starts out as everything
And ends up the worst kind of nothing
After all's said and done we just had to stop trying
I couldn't take any more but still it kills me it dying
Did I let you down or just let you go
For as long as I live I swear I'll never know
Caught between love and hate
Destruction our only fate
Through it all there'll always be a place in my heart
For the love you gave me and where you tore it apart
Baby I had to leave
Tho' still it makes my soul bleed
Baby I had to go
Tho' the pain inside
You'll never, never, never know
To survive, to survive, to survive
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