Andria Degens' first record in five years as Pantaleimon coasts along in a haunting lull, halfway between coherence and a nonsensical haze. A luxury of psychedelic drone and lush orchestration, the narcotic quality of this record is endearing even if it is not fully satisfying. I return often to a few beautifully performed songs buried among a number of other simply competent ones, but I have to admire how engrossing Degens' style is when absorbed at an album's dose.
The Butterfly Ate The Pearl has an impressive cast of contributors on board with Andria, ranging from Steve Finnerty (of Alabama 3) and Jay Darlington (of Oasis and Kula Shaker) to James Blackshaw and even Will Oldham. But honestly, their input is totally backgrounded by Degens' dominating voice. The sole element tethering this music to the conscious world, the lyrics of Pantaleimon are fluid and lush without seeming forced. Scarcely rhyming, Andria's poetic prose is uplifting by a bevy of strings and treated guitars and synthesizers and plentiful reverb. In the better points of the album, such as on early standouts "Diamond River Run" and the title track, there is a timeless comfort to how her voice dances around the pacing of the songs, in a way indebted to alternative rock with its distant blasé and listless delivery.
She is irreverent, perhaps; psychedelia is difficult to deliver with sincerity and I get the feeling Andria has found a safe middle ground to attempt proselytizing for the natural world or to share deep secrets while avoiding the traps of overly earnest purple prose. On the most upbeat song of the album, "Elevation of a Dream," Degens approaches something very familiar to fans of great dream pop, a rattling ride cymbal and a synth buzzing along in a two-part movement of repeated passages and little golden moments. It is the finest moment on the album, a tender crushing refrain of "we are starlight" fading out in unaccompanied sadness. It is succeeded by "Ember," its psuedo-religious organ trills, sparse choral accompaniments and sturdy percussion embodying the confidence of the album's lead single.
The energy tapers off a bit at that point, concluding in a fairly underwhelming two song suite to end it all. "Morning Star" and "Summer Reigns" both aim for a kind of miraculous summation of moods and timbres that are not fully realized but are still fairly pleasant. The album is slow in peak and comedown, with a stellar middle, a feat which in my mind seems rare. Pantaleimon never attempts to make much of an impression with her music through its soft strokes and gently ethereal tones. Still, it is at times impactful; at times stunningly so.
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