REVIEWS . . .
Dave Ormston
“I was asked to review "Secrets and Lies", the
second offering from Jon Edwards and Anne-Marie
Helder's "roots" ensemble Luna Rossa I guess because
I really "got" their previous collaboration "Sleeping Pills and
Lullabies". Sure I loved it, but my spirit also was fed by it in a strange
way. I am an avowed fan of Panic Room
too, but for different reasons than I love Luna Rossa. Panic Room's songs, even
the intimate ones, offer leviathan soundscapes that sweep up and crash down;
that roll and thunder then breathe on the cheek. It is BIG music. Think Holszt. By contrast "Sleeping Pills and Lullabies" was a
far more intimate, but no less passionate affair, with near transparent
production of songs of crystalline beauty.
Mendelssohn perhaps. Beguiling.
I had seen excited giggles exchanged between Anne-Marie and Jon on social media as they nurtured this new thing in secret, and I suspected they knew they had something rather special once again. I set aside a Sunday to do nothing but listen to these new songs alone and undisturbed. What a day that was...
Immediately "Aurora" unfurled like spring emerging from winter. Hopeful and tentative becoming optimistic then a euphoric run though a spring meadow when the vocals begin. I am actually sad when the coda begins as this is so lovely. This song is like warm sun on closed eyelids.
The musical setting is even more intimate than "Sleeping pills.." with a gorgeous warm double bass laying a rich floor in almost every song.
"Secrets & Lies" , like, Thai soup, made my eyes water, yet I can't get enough. The desolate narrative will sting many listeners who, like myself, have walked the path of the protagonists. The music is a lush foil to the lyrics, wheeling and rolling around a lilting bassline. Desolately beautiful.
When experienced adults articulate honestly how love and loss has made them feel it can sometimes connect directly with the heart of a similarly experienced listener. This album is so intimately accurate in describing events and sensations from my own life it could genuinely be biographical of me. The disquiet of this realisation does not stop me from adoring this though. The rolling, and soaring music provides ample warmth to counter the ice, and sweetness to contrast the salt.
"Disappointment"'s glorious Fender Rhodes chords allowed to ring out offer a smoky California late nite soundscape here. Gloriously breathy bluesy lines from Anne-Marie once again belie the world-weary nature of the narrative. Anne-Marie once told not all her songs are written from personal experience, then she is a hell of an actress here. Another page torn from my own life. Spooky yet uplifting.
"The Black dog is watching, so dark behind my eyes" says "The Black Dog". This is as authentic as any mediaeval folk story, and another eerily accurate emotional articulation, this time of how it feels to watch an inevitable change of season in life loom ahead, yet also carries a reminder that it will pass, and until it does love sustains. Such truth and beauty is here !. The musical setting needs no more seasoning. Redemption will surely come one day. Hope springs eternal.
"Flowers In My Hair" is Cinematic, optimistic, profoundly moving. Even the Frere Jacques motif complements the optimism. Like Anne-Marie I believe this song's lyrical outcome can come true. I believe it because I have to else there's no hope. Grace, beauty and redemption is here in this little song. I made tears.
If LZ3-era Zeppelin wrote a new theme tune for Bagpuss it might sound like “Happy Little Song”. No Joke ! Wonderfully naive lyrics with a delivery from Anne-Marie that is either insistent or manic, this is far more complex fare than it first seems ! Add to that the unexpected minor shift in the music, this has wonderful sourness to balance the sweet. A Brothers Grimm fairytale, not a Disney one.
The quality simply does not let up : in “Tiny demons”, a Fender Rhodes and upright bass again lay an imploring and warm floor for this vignette. This warm, rich music backdrop belies the weary but somehow uplifting narrative. A breathtaking piece that soars above its simplicity. Musically and lyrically the fit is seamless, you'd never guess this was a Todd Rundgren cover. I know it is yet STILL there is unique Luna Rossa magic here.
If Tom Waits ever orchestrated Norah Jones singing Joni Mitchell songs it might come close to “Fly Away”. Wonderful adult songwriting wrapped in a most evocative crisp white musical winterscape. Anne-Maries' voice is an ensemble instrument on this one, and it melds wonderfully. This is as much "jazz" as any Steely dan song but in a wholly different way.
On this reading of "I've Been Wrong Before" Anne-Marie sings rings round Dusty and Cilla here, which doesn't happen very often at all. The fact that this Randy Newman classic dovetails so neatly with the other songs on this album but shows the amazing quality of Luna Rossa' own songwriting. Seamless and heartfelt and desolate. A crystalline beauty.
"The Harmony" continues the relentless variety and quality: "Automatic.." era REM echoes here in the most "Panic Room" style song in this collection. It has a hymnal quality to it that uplifts the soul. Redemptive, truthful, human.
By the time "No Chords Left" arrives at the albums end I am breathless, smiling broadly behind tears-wet cheeks. Anne-Marie's most affecting vocal ever? A hint of vibrato just strums the listener's heartstrings. Jon's counterpoint piano finishes the job of breaking a heart. The piano motif coda is every bit as plaintive as that of Opeth's mighty "Leper Affinity".
I sit in silence for a few minutes contemplating what I have heard. This is heartsong, truly, delivered by expert musicians of the very highest taste. Not a note is wasted.
Does this review read too reverentially ? If so I don't care. These songs speak of my life in a way that very few others do, and the musical settings for these narratives are so devastatingly apt that Secrets and Lies is the most affecting collection of songs I have heard in many years. Certainly the best thing Jon and Anne-Marie have ever made, and possibly the best British album this year by anyone.
Like nightswimming your first listen deserves a quiet night. Enjoy.
I had seen excited giggles exchanged between Anne-Marie and Jon on social media as they nurtured this new thing in secret, and I suspected they knew they had something rather special once again. I set aside a Sunday to do nothing but listen to these new songs alone and undisturbed. What a day that was...
Immediately "Aurora" unfurled like spring emerging from winter. Hopeful and tentative becoming optimistic then a euphoric run though a spring meadow when the vocals begin. I am actually sad when the coda begins as this is so lovely. This song is like warm sun on closed eyelids.
The musical setting is even more intimate than "Sleeping pills.." with a gorgeous warm double bass laying a rich floor in almost every song.
"Secrets & Lies" , like, Thai soup, made my eyes water, yet I can't get enough. The desolate narrative will sting many listeners who, like myself, have walked the path of the protagonists. The music is a lush foil to the lyrics, wheeling and rolling around a lilting bassline. Desolately beautiful.
When experienced adults articulate honestly how love and loss has made them feel it can sometimes connect directly with the heart of a similarly experienced listener. This album is so intimately accurate in describing events and sensations from my own life it could genuinely be biographical of me. The disquiet of this realisation does not stop me from adoring this though. The rolling, and soaring music provides ample warmth to counter the ice, and sweetness to contrast the salt.
"Disappointment"'s glorious Fender Rhodes chords allowed to ring out offer a smoky California late nite soundscape here. Gloriously breathy bluesy lines from Anne-Marie once again belie the world-weary nature of the narrative. Anne-Marie once told not all her songs are written from personal experience, then she is a hell of an actress here. Another page torn from my own life. Spooky yet uplifting.
"The Black dog is watching, so dark behind my eyes" says "The Black Dog". This is as authentic as any mediaeval folk story, and another eerily accurate emotional articulation, this time of how it feels to watch an inevitable change of season in life loom ahead, yet also carries a reminder that it will pass, and until it does love sustains. Such truth and beauty is here !. The musical setting needs no more seasoning. Redemption will surely come one day. Hope springs eternal.
"Flowers In My Hair" is Cinematic, optimistic, profoundly moving. Even the Frere Jacques motif complements the optimism. Like Anne-Marie I believe this song's lyrical outcome can come true. I believe it because I have to else there's no hope. Grace, beauty and redemption is here in this little song. I made tears.
If LZ3-era Zeppelin wrote a new theme tune for Bagpuss it might sound like “Happy Little Song”. No Joke ! Wonderfully naive lyrics with a delivery from Anne-Marie that is either insistent or manic, this is far more complex fare than it first seems ! Add to that the unexpected minor shift in the music, this has wonderful sourness to balance the sweet. A Brothers Grimm fairytale, not a Disney one.
The quality simply does not let up : in “Tiny demons”, a Fender Rhodes and upright bass again lay an imploring and warm floor for this vignette. This warm, rich music backdrop belies the weary but somehow uplifting narrative. A breathtaking piece that soars above its simplicity. Musically and lyrically the fit is seamless, you'd never guess this was a Todd Rundgren cover. I know it is yet STILL there is unique Luna Rossa magic here.
If Tom Waits ever orchestrated Norah Jones singing Joni Mitchell songs it might come close to “Fly Away”. Wonderful adult songwriting wrapped in a most evocative crisp white musical winterscape. Anne-Maries' voice is an ensemble instrument on this one, and it melds wonderfully. This is as much "jazz" as any Steely dan song but in a wholly different way.
On this reading of "I've Been Wrong Before" Anne-Marie sings rings round Dusty and Cilla here, which doesn't happen very often at all. The fact that this Randy Newman classic dovetails so neatly with the other songs on this album but shows the amazing quality of Luna Rossa' own songwriting. Seamless and heartfelt and desolate. A crystalline beauty.
"The Harmony" continues the relentless variety and quality: "Automatic.." era REM echoes here in the most "Panic Room" style song in this collection. It has a hymnal quality to it that uplifts the soul. Redemptive, truthful, human.
By the time "No Chords Left" arrives at the albums end I am breathless, smiling broadly behind tears-wet cheeks. Anne-Marie's most affecting vocal ever? A hint of vibrato just strums the listener's heartstrings. Jon's counterpoint piano finishes the job of breaking a heart. The piano motif coda is every bit as plaintive as that of Opeth's mighty "Leper Affinity".
I sit in silence for a few minutes contemplating what I have heard. This is heartsong, truly, delivered by expert musicians of the very highest taste. Not a note is wasted.
Does this review read too reverentially ? If so I don't care. These songs speak of my life in a way that very few others do, and the musical settings for these narratives are so devastatingly apt that Secrets and Lies is the most affecting collection of songs I have heard in many years. Certainly the best thing Jon and Anne-Marie have ever made, and possibly the best British album this year by anyone.
Like nightswimming your first listen deserves a quiet night. Enjoy.