Robin Guthrie After The Night Falls Genres:Dance & Electronic, Alternative Rock, International Music, Special Interest, Pop, Rock It's been more than 20 years since pianist Harold Budd's first full collaboration with guitarist Robin Guthrie's former group, the Cocteau Twins, on The Moon and the Melodies. Primed by their atmospheric collaboration on ... more »the score to Mysterious Skin, they pick up where they left off, sans the voice of Elizabeth Fraser, on a pair of matched CDs, After the Night Falls and Before the Day Breaks. Guthrie lays down his signature deep-echo guitar arpeggios and shimmering electric glissandos while Budd drops piano notes, each placed with the elegance and thought of a Zen garden. The latter, whose 2005 retirement appears to have been greatly exaggerated, has lately been stripping away the electronics and making an introspective solo piano music, often born from melodic fragments and languid improvisations. It's nice to hear them framed by Guthrie in an electric gossamer where melodies flutter like tattered cobwebs in the echoing wind. So it's not surprising that some tracks have a tendency to vaporize. Songs with a bit of grounding like "Seven Thousand Sunny Years," with its spare rhythm track and refracting guitars, tend to hold up a little better, while "My Monochrome Vision" just wanders into the drone zone. Of the two albums, After the Night Falls is more structured and formed, although Budd and Guthrie do wait until the last track of Before the Day Breaks to unleash a welcome slice of contrasting aggression with "Turn on the Moon." Totaling 81 minutes between them, I'm not sure why the albums couldn't have been condensed into a single disc, making a tighter, less diffuse statement. Yet both have more than enough moments of sublime melancholy and deep ruminations to provide a soundtrack for that long lonesome film in your mind. --John Diliberto« less
It's been more than 20 years since pianist Harold Budd's first full collaboration with guitarist Robin Guthrie's former group, the Cocteau Twins, on The Moon and the Melodies. Primed by their atmospheric collaboration on the score to Mysterious Skin, they pick up where they left off, sans the voice of Elizabeth Fraser, on a pair of matched CDs, After the Night Falls and Before the Day Breaks. Guthrie lays down his signature deep-echo guitar arpeggios and shimmering electric glissandos while Budd drops piano notes, each placed with the elegance and thought of a Zen garden. The latter, whose 2005 retirement appears to have been greatly exaggerated, has lately been stripping away the electronics and making an introspective solo piano music, often born from melodic fragments and languid improvisations. It's nice to hear them framed by Guthrie in an electric gossamer where melodies flutter like tattered cobwebs in the echoing wind. So it's not surprising that some tracks have a tendency to vaporize. Songs with a bit of grounding like "Seven Thousand Sunny Years," with its spare rhythm track and refracting guitars, tend to hold up a little better, while "My Monochrome Vision" just wanders into the drone zone. Of the two albums, After the Night Falls is more structured and formed, although Budd and Guthrie do wait until the last track of Before the Day Breaks to unleash a welcome slice of contrasting aggression with "Turn on the Moon." Totaling 81 minutes between them, I'm not sure why the albums couldn't have been condensed into a single disc, making a tighter, less diffuse statement. Yet both have more than enough moments of sublime melancholy and deep ruminations to provide a soundtrack for that long lonesome film in your mind. --John Diliberto
CD Reviews
Another great album from Guthrie and Budd
Sayaka Takasawa | Yokohama, Japan | 07/14/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"This album doesn't seem to cover any new territory that the two haven't done before either together or solo. It's a good listen however. Some of the guitar bits bring back fond memories of Guthrie's work 10 years ago. Overall it's a good addition to your collection. If you're a newbie to the pair, it's an excelent introduction."
Dreamy Afternoon
Cora W | Honolulu, HI | 09/19/2007
(4 out of 5 stars)
"this reminds me of my favorite cocteau twins recording, the moon and the melodies. this is a great cd to meditate to, very relaxing and mind opening. the music is creamy, dreamy, and lulling."
West of Sundown by Budd & Guthrie
Winslow Bunny | Rockledge, Florida United States | 01/20/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Harold Budd & Robin Guthrie, a pair of legendary names in the ambient music world, created a two-album theme of music and emotions with Before The Day Breaks and After The Night Falls. Creating a kind of minimalist sound with these albums, the pair have created relaxing ambient music demonstrating that sometimes less is more, and better. Both are excellent for unwinding after work, for quiet times and perhaps even catching your breath at work. This is a definite recommendation for those who want their music a little calmer & quieter."
Perfect Ambient music you will indulge in
Manny Hernandez | Bay Area, CA | 04/02/2008
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I barely became aware of the release of this album in early 2008 (it came out in mid-2007). Yet, since I found out about it, it's become a fixture in my iTunes playlist. The ethereal sound of Harold Budd (one of the early creators of Ambient music along with Brian Eno) blends in impeccably with the guitar work of Robin Guthrie (of Cocteau Twins fame) to yield an album that you will indulge in time and again.
Along with the companion Before The Day Breaks, this is an album you will find yourself listening in times of trouble and in times of joy equally, non-intrusive music that you can work to and write to as much as you can mellow to."
