In a way that is noble, isolated, and romantic, the strings and voicesof Tom Carter, Christina Carter, and Heather Leigh Murrary craft musicas though it were made for lost souls and restless spirits. There is anuneasiness in the wobble and sway of their plucking and weaving thatradiates uncertain photographs and blurred figures. Without a doubtthere exists this haunting dimension to the Charalambides' music, butto mistake their music for stringed ghastliness is to miss half thebeauty of Joy Shapes.Christina Carter serves as some kind of medium between this world andthe next, where mountains blur in the distance, disappear, and leaveonly sand in the wake of their death. This world crafted out of slideguitars, chimes, voices, and various string instruments has nocertainty, belonging to the spirit of improvisation and illusion. "HereNot Here" wails away as Christina Carter chants "The rains shines / Andthe sun falls / Here is here / Here is not here." A theme ofdeceptiveness is already established in the early lyrics and it becomesall the more evident in the spring-like rumble of guitars that slowlyecho into the darkness near the end of the song. The vocals often comeaway sounding as though they belonged to some ancient Greek comedywhere the hero dies tragically and the lyrics tell of his passing intothe next world. There are shrieks and cries throughout the record; someare intelligible and others act as part of the instrumentation. Thoughthis all sounds like it might belong to tragedy and fear, "Joy Shapes"changes the direction of this record and opens up a door of uncannybeauty. "Joy Shapes" drops like a focused lense over the mistylandscape the Charalambides' had painted over the previous thrity-twominutes and rings like water ripples over the surface of a pond. Theinteraction of the guitar, the delicacy now present in Carter's voice,and the story-like lyrics all represent something from this worldwithout spoiling the fragile mystery that occupied the first half ofthe record. As "Natural Night" progresses though its trembling fingersand whale-like waves of sound, calm washes over everything and astrange pearl-light marks the descent of dread and the rise of peacefulunderstanding. The closing "Voice For You" put me under a spell of lovethe instant I heard Christina Carter's voice unmasked and smiling frombehind the veneer of its previous enigmatic allure. The droning ofCarter's voice into an instrument, the slow rumble of the approachingend, and the keyboard-like crooning of electric guitars all twist andturn until they explode and wrestle to a slow and natural end. Allalong this music had been a focusing from the realm of unease and doubtto the harmonies of love and oceanic rhythm. The Charalambides might beplaying a strange music that completely lacks any familiar songstructure or easy point of reference, but it is honestly affectionate,somehow familiar, and warm to its core. Read More
