REVIEW: Bed of Roses, The Kissing Tree (DivaNation)
- Chelsea Spear
When I first received this CD from our fearless leader, I had no idea what to expect. The band's name conjured up images of a horrifically saccharine romantic comedy from a few years back, and the cover art resembled an eye-catching, richly colourful flyer for "goth night" at the famed Boston nightclub Man Ray. On perusing the liner notes, I recognized the name of BoR ringleader as a member of My Scarlet Life, whose inventive, silky cover of "Suspended in Gaffa" graced the exemplary Kate Bush tribute album I Wanna Be Kate . However, none of these signposts belied the true artistry behind this album.
Quite simply, The Kissing Tree is a musical truffle whose rich, dense flavours should appeal to many palates. Goths will find the spooky storm backdrop appealing, and 4AD geeks can swoon at the sound tapestry of swirling, gauzy layers that permeates each track. The romantic ambiance will hook the lusty lovers who will use this as mood music over their candlelight dinners, and overstressed students and worker bees like myself may well take solace in the lulling melodies and relaxed, drony cello.
Usually, music of this nature does nothing for me; the pure whimsy and wispiness of most etherial bands bores me and leaves me feeling hungry for some substantial music about half an hour later. With Bed of Roses, though, the musicianship at the core adds another level of enjoyment to the listening experience, and paying attention to the interplay between chanted vocals, cello arrangements that dance gracefully, and bobbing and weaving guitar parts can keep one awake as soon as the music in full can sound like a lullabye. This ensemble is also more musically adventurous than many others. While the Tricky-like rap that opens "It Glows In My Hand" probably looked better on paper than it sounded on record, I'm glad the band had the ingenuity to add another element to the mix.
All in all, The Kissing Tree is a scintillating, high-quality album of unusual grace and syncopation, one that comes highly recommended to fans of This Mortal Coil, Massive Attack, and Portishead. To hear it is to savour it.
For more information on Bed of Roses, check out the website located at: http://www.divanation.com
