Search - Emily Bezar :: Four Walls Bending

Emily Bezar's fabulous art rock offspring

Chuck | Ohio | 06/13/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I would place "Four Walls Bending" up there with Emily Bezar's ingenious debut "Grandmother's Tea Leaves", in the "records that should have sold 10-million copies instead of 'Hit me baby one more time'" category. While the stylistic transformation that Bezar has made in "Four Walls Bending" (her third album to date) is huge and not necessarily a logical extension of her sophomore effort, "Moon in Grenadine", it is nonetheless a stunning and original piece of work. Bezar's band, who made their first appearance on "Moon in Grenadine", is back in peak form; far from sounding like a studio-assembled backing band, the different members interact almost organically. When the songs occasionally extend into "jam session" territory, the musicians keep it interesting with their tight interaction and remarkable proficiency. Apart from the newfound rock instrumentation, what sounds most different about Bezar's new CD is that it contains many more pop elements than either of her previous albums. "Grandmother's Tea Leaves" was an electronic foray into slightly pop-tinged art song, and "Moon in Grenadine" was a somewhat indecisive album in which melodic piano ballades, quasi-progressive rock and fusion sat side by side; Four Walls Bending is definitively in the pop/rock idiom, but respectably so. Bezar's chord progressions remain daring and unexpected, and her delicious tendency to explore alternate time signatures remains intact (if not accentuated, given her fantastic rhythm section). However, the lyrics on "Four Walls Bending" are more accessible, songs are more concise, and Bezar's piano playing sounds less like Debussy and more like Tori Amos. While that comparison may have been inaccurate on previous albums, it is definitely right on the mark here: Bezar has almost abandoned her previously operatic-sounding voice for a more breathy, pop sound (well, to be blunt her voice sounds a lot like... Tori.) Interestingly, some of "Four Walls Bending" sounds strikingly like "Little Earthquakes"/"Under the Pink"-era Tori, and some of it sounds very much like the recent "To Venus and Back". People who found the first two albums hard to digest will likely be seduced by the sheer catchiness of "Four Walls Bending", as well as Bezar's recent tendency to expose her emotions through tender lyric-writing (about half the new album is about her newborn son). My personal favorite tracks are "Filigree of Noon", "Black Sand", and the title track. While this album is not as daringly original or avant-garde as her first two, it is perhaps more cohesive and retains the unique mesh of pop, (prog) rock, jazz, and classical that is Emily Bezar."

Four Walls Bending may be the best album of the past century

Rafael Menezes | Brazil | 11/27/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This album is so overwhelming on so many levels.Four Walls Bending is a real masterpiece, and its grandeur may only be experienced by the listener, once the album is on one's CD player.Although Emily herself prefers to describe Four Walls Bending as a "pop" album, it's rather an incredibly artistic, profound, subtle, complex, experimental, surprising and beautiful piece of work.Emily's got a great love for music, and her aesthetical sense is unmatched, as we easily realize once the album starts playing.Indeed, Emily manages to create dissonant / psychodelic, and still very melodic songs, as the unusual arrangements are on par with her beautiful, soothing and well trained voice.Obviously, Emily Bezar's ingenious music may not be easily digested by those who are used to MTV or radio friendly songs only. Still, she certainly became somewhat more accessible to the general audience here, albeit kept the high level of her work.Comparisons to Tori Amos and Kate Bush will always spring to mind. But a deeper contact with Emily's material will be more than enough to demonstrate - even to the most uncaring ears - that any resemblances are as remote as they can be: her music is her own.In fact, as talented as Tori Amos and Kate Bush are, they never attained the depth and the level of experimentalism that Bezar so easily seemed to have achieved.If one wants to give this VERY talented artist a try, this is the best start. Highly recommended."