Innocence Mission "Befriended" (CD)
Label: Badman
released in 2003
Karen Peris could sing the nutrition facts from the side of a box of crackers
and make it sound intimate and personal. Breathy, sweet, young, and strong - her
voice gives you shivers with its inflections. She sings with a hum in her voice,
occasional warbles and high-peaked emphasis dropped with cadence. The catch for
Innocence Mission is the haunting carried notes and the sweet fluttering of her
voice.
The instrumentation is such to create an atmosphere to complement these aspects.
The undertone of sound is often broad and expansive, swimming in echo or halls.
Acoustic guitars are played with chunky strumming. Electric guitars high on the
fret-board play strong clear notes. Piano sometimes matches the acoustic
clunkiness, but also tinkles sweet notes here and there. A couple of great
moments are the popping harmonics on “Tomorrow On The Runway” or the somber
piano on “I Never Knew You From The Sun.”
Don Peris’ voice, when it is featured, is a nice contribution to the songs; he
does well to complement his wife’s voice, which doesn’t seem to be an easy
task - her voice being so strong. In “Look For Me As You Go By” he even
sounds a bit like James Taylor but mostly he sings long notes in the background;
e.g. the wonderful, “Martha Avenue Love Song” or “Sweep Down Early.”
Somewhat folky, somewhat autumnal, but almost entirely bittersweet, Befriended
is complete and consistent; 10 good songs, clocking in at 36:11.
Review written on 2003/11/13 by Ryan Phillips
Innocence Mission
"Befriended" (CD)
Label: Badman
released in 2003
Karen Peris could sing the nutrition facts from the side of a box of crackers
and make it sound intimate and personal. Breathy, sweet, young, and strong - her
voice gives you shivers with its inflections. She sings with a hum in her voice,
occasional warbles and high-peaked emphasis dropped with cadence. The catch for
Innocence Mission is the haunting carried notes and the sweet fluttering of her
voice.
The instrumentation is such to create an atmosphere to complement these aspects.
The undertone of sound is often broad and expansive, swimming in echo or halls.
Acoustic guitars are played with chunky strumming. Electric guitars high on the
fret-board play strong clear notes. Piano sometimes matches the acoustic
clunkiness, but also tinkles sweet notes here and there. A couple of great
moments are the popping harmonics on “Tomorrow On The Runway” or the somber
piano on “I Never Knew You From The Sun.”
Don Peris’ voice, when it is featured, is a nice contribution to the songs; he
does well to complement his wife’s voice, which doesn’t seem to be an easy
task - her voice being so strong. In “Look For Me As You Go By” he even
sounds a bit like James Taylor but mostly he sings long notes in the background;
e.g. the wonderful, “Martha Avenue Love Song” or “Sweep Down Early.”
Somewhat folky, somewhat autumnal, but almost entirely bittersweet, Befriended
is complete and consistent; 10 good songs, clocking in at 36:11.
Review written on 2003/11/13 by Ryan Phillips