Constellation
Among the other things that have been augmented since the first releaseis Efrim's vocal presence, which at this point is pretty ubiquitous. Inthe lower registers, his voice is a fairly stable countertenor whichover-pronounces the lyrics disarmingly. But Efrim can warble his voiceand destabilize it when he reaches and extends it slightly. The effectis purposeful but perhaps not always pleasant. The Mt. Zion music risesand falls behind the vocal wanderings, creating either an impressivemountainous background or an insufficient mole-hill which leaves themusic unguarded and vulnerable. In either case, the socio-politicalcritiques and commentaries of the vocals take center-stage on thealbum, sometimes supported by glittering beautiful music and sometimesleft out to dry like so many of the disenfranchised subjects of theseptet's lyrics. The album's opener "God Bless Our Dead Marines" begsthe question, "Does Canada have Marines, or is he talking aboutAmerica's?" In either case, someone is putting angels in electricchairs, according to Efrim, and the band marches through six disparateand disconnected movements describing a collection losses or deaths,none of whom sound very much like the few and the proud. "MountainsMade of Steam" is the best song in the album, elaborating quietly onthe theme of "My Favorite Things" in its first half. Mt. Zion's chorusbacks up Efrim in this first half, eventually yielding to areverberating guitar which itself gives way to the more fascinatingcello bridge between the final movement. The choir sings over thecello, "The angels in your palm/ sing gentle worried songs,/ and thesweetness of our dreams/ like mountains made of steam" while otherstrings casually but importantly join in. The violins' melody over thecello lilts hypnotizingly and too soon the song dissipates without anyhint of a departure. It marks one of the most graceful exits ever for asong. The title track is a quiet, contemplative song marked more byrestraint than most of the album. To see an example about how the musiccan throw the vocalists under the bus, you need only listen to "Hang onto Each Other." "Ring Them Bells" is the most Godspeedesquecomposition, while "Teddy Roosevelt's Guns" is the most thematicallyand lyrically interesting (think of it as Canadian national protestanthem outfitted thoughtfully with the obligatory apostrophe "OhCanada"). Horses in the Skyis a very holistic album, comprising and even colliding various soundsof the Constellation Records family under this one, though admittedlyrambling, band name. If the rambling can be weathered, there are someworthwhile moments on the album which are not drowned out by the equinestampede of the band's thoughts.
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