Search - Manitoba :: Up in Flames

Pleasant enough semi-electronic meanderings

Rinchen Choesang | Melbourne, Australia | 12/27/2004

(2 out of 5 stars)

"What's here is all pretty listenable `twisted' psychedelia. I can't quite fathom the logic of those who place among `best albums' though. I would really rate it about 3 & ½ stars, but feel it is currently rated too highly overall and 39 minutes is slim pickings for a full-price CD.



The best tracks for me are:



- `I've lived on a dirt road all my life' - full of life, with shimmering floaty lyrics - a good opener

- `Skunks' - warped - jagged sax snatches and eerie synth themes complementing a jaunty beat. Fabulous

- `Jacknuggeted' - minimalist intro, morphing in a number of ways before deconstructing and dissolving into the ether

- `Kid you'll move mountains' - a bit like Jesus and Mary Chain on Prozac - strangely engaging

- `Crayon' - a joyful, bubbly and captivating little tune - definitely the album highlight; which flows effortlessly into:

- `Every time she turns round it's her birthday' - shimmery synth washes around Brit-pop-like fuzzy vocals - a warm and vibrant way to end a good, though not great, album



A few of the other tracks are a bit forgettable. This is an album best listened to on headphones, as there is a lot of inner detail you could miss otherwise.



Don't be fooled into thinking this is an electronica album - far from it! I was sucked in by others' rave reviews and Amazon's `people who bought this also bought...' recommendations. It is just reasonably engaging psychedelia, inventive and easy to listen to.

"

This Album Sounds Like...

Nicholas A. Ray | The Sticks, NY, USA | 05/07/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

".......Laying on your back in a field of crayola-green grass, staring at the clouds and noticing the river and mountains behind it, and feeling the ground spinning beneath you, then getting up and walking down a path through the woods that, you soon notice, has golden writing on it, and then you see one of your best friends and shes smiling and you're smiling (zonked!) and so you and her and your other friends pile into the car and leave the park........and then you're driving and a record is playing and the trees are flying by and so are houses..."

From the perspective of ignorance

R. Solomon | New Zealand | 05/08/2005

(3 out of 5 stars)

"This is Dan Sniath's second album that is so completetly different compared his previous effort you'd think it was a different artist. I haven't heard Start Breaking My Heart so there'll be no compariosons here. I should also add that genreally speaking I like my music a little dark and towards the heavy end and that I'm not well versed in the 1960's or psychadelia. Consequently rather than reviewing tracks I've simply listed a series of word that come into mind when listening to this record- pretty much because I can't adequaltely review this record (i'd like to have included song references in my world list alas...)



I've lived on a dirt road all my life- bird calls, whispering vocals

Skunks- crickets, jazz improve saxaphone

Hendrix with ko- toe tapping, hand claps

Jacknuggeted- simple guitar chords, childlike hummings,

Why the long face- ???

Bijoux- raining chimes, folk rock, bah bah bahhhh bah bah bah and some violins at the end

Twins- a couple of guitar chords followed by drums from a high school football game (WOW!!!)

Kid you'll move mountains- flutes floating in the atmosphere, shimerring vocals, video game sounds

crayon- child giggles, xylophones, dogs barking and old school electronic effects

Everytime she turns round it's her birthday- vocally the strongest track, hummings and hand claps, jazz, silence



Up in Flames is founded on psychadelic shimmerings complete with hand claps, glockenspiles and animal sounds. I guess if you're going to label it you could try folktronica but which has recently come in for some stock by the stylus magazine people. Hope fully you've got a sense from my 'descriptions' that this album is composed of some wierd and wonderful instruments. The vocals are not a strong point of the album but the instrumentation is fascinating and there are some really melodic omoments. There's also a couple of pop-folk- toe tappers which are great- Hendrix with Ko for instance. I imagine if you like this record you'd probably have some Animal Collective records, mabye Boards of Canada, some psychadelic pop records. I didn't intially like it but know I think it's pretty good."