Search - His Name Is Alive :: Home Is in My Head

A sketchbook of dreams

J. Holmes | yokohama, japan | 10/22/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"wow. i remember first hearing this album years and years ago and just being in awe of the beautiful and endlessly creative music. there are alot of songs on this album, but each one is almost like a small sketch of an idea. drifting in and out of one another, some are soft and gentle, and others are a bit more disturbing and dark. the undeniable beauty of songs like "Why People Disappear", "Sitting Still Moving...", and "Are We Still Married?" never fail to move me. this is an album full of haunting, ghostly, strange, and alluring music; teetering close to the edge of being new age or pop...but then they toss out a Rainbow cover song (done exceptionally well, i might add) and the mystery of this band just continues to develop as it unravels. certainly recomended for fan of Cocteau Twins, Swallow, or Slowdive."

Dark...

J. C. Sanders | San Francisco | 01/05/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This is a more listenable effort than the debut album, "Livonia"

but still should barely be classifiable as "music"...

It's more like ethereal sounda art, dreamscapes, spoken word with acoustic guitar wafting in and out over atmospheric distortion.

Karin's voice sounds more confident than "Livonia", but still a little to trite for my taste. I mean, "this Mortal Coil" had a little more soul...



NOT FOR BEGINNERS IMHO...

I'd recommend

"Mouth by Mouth"

"Stars on ESP"

or

"Ft Lake"



Thank you!"

Refines the first album into a beautiful collage

Leaman G. Crews | 06/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

""Home Is In Your Head" is one of the few HNIA albums to sound like the one that came before it--probably because it was mostly made up of songs that Warren Defever recorded during the same time period as "Livonia." Once again, This Mortal Coil's Ivo Watts-Russell and John Fryer mixed it into something coherent.



But "Home Is In Your Head" is far from a "Livonia" clone or rehash. Whereas "Livonia" featured beautiful gothic folk songs with a dash here and there of new wave and heavy metal guitar heroics, interspersed with moody instrumentals, "Home Is In Your Head" refines the concept further. The songs are more direct, with stronger lyrics and hooks, and the instrumentals are shorter, but also more direct and more evocative.



It all adds up to a beautiful collage of mood and feeling. While individual songs may not hold up, especially the more brief instrumentals, the album as a whole is a masterwork of musical texture.



As a side note, it appears that 4AD's most recent CD issue includes the "Dirt Eaters" EP, as did Rykodisc's initial USA release of the album. While "The Dirt Eaters" is a fine record on its own, it really doesn't go well with "Home Is In Your Head," save for the included altnerate version of "Are We Still Married?". It's a more song-oriented effort, hinting at the direction that HNIA would take over the next few records. "Home Is In Your Head" really should end as it did on the original vinyl--with the tape running out on its most upbeat song!"