Snowbird - Moon

Snowbird
Moon
27 January 2014
Bella Union

2.5 stars out of 5

 

It’s probably not surprising that a band featuring an alumnus (Simon Raymonde) of Scotland’s much-celebrated Cocteau Twins would sound a lot like that band. I mean, a lot. A. Lot. What’s troubling is that Snowbird sound more like that band’s post-4AD period than Treasure or even Heaven or Las Vegas, two of the Cocteaus’ classic albums. Moon comes across more like a feeble attempt to recreate Four-Calendar Café or Milk & Kisses, which of course begs the question, “Why bother?” Snowbird’s other half is American Stephanie Dosen, whose two solo albums and work with Massive Attack and The Chemical Brothers form an impressive CV of her own. That both Dosen and Cocteau Twins singer Liz Fraser have provided vocals for Massive Attack (Dosen toured with the band in 2008, Fraser in 2006; Fraser also sang on several songs on Mezzanine, including “Teardrop”) is likely not a coincidence, as Stephanie is a sound-alike for Liz under the right conditions.

Moon’s opener “I Heard the Owl Call My Name” could be an outtake from Vegas. To be fair, it’s a solid, moving track which sees Dosen doing her best Fraser impression. The next few tracks are all stationary, flat, dull copies of the lifeless piano versions found on Twinlights. The narrative which unfolds over the LP seems to center on a woman or girl named Amelia, who on her trek through the forest in the winter encounters the aforementioned owl, plus birds, bears, mice, and foxes. Since more often than not Dosen also mimics Fraser’s much-renowned ability to be utterly incomprehensible, the five W’s and one H of the story remain mostly unanswered questions, if one cared enough to ask them in the first place. If loads of furry and feathered animals in a snowy forest is your idea of a good time (and actually that does sound rather nice), then the otherwise lifeless music here should provide you with forty-five minutes of cold but fluffy entertainment.

Despite featuring contributions by two members of Radiohead (Ed O’Brien, Phil Selway), Moon is sonically uninteresting and compositionally dull. Raymonde seems intent on reliving past glories, but this is not my complaint. Rather, that he would choose to relive Twinlights, which was, arguably, Cocteau Twins’ dullest and least important moment (after Snow, obviously), is where my criticism arises. Nor would I rate this LP any higher if I didn’t take into consideration the background of the musicians involved. Clearly a lot of work and thought has gone into the writing and recording of this record, it’s just a shame that the results are so underwhelming.

reviewed by Richard Krueger