Rating 5.0
This is a band to watch!It has been a while since I've purchased an album based solely on Amazon.com reviews and sound files. With the price of CDs quickly approaching $20 a pop and the quality of releases declining even faster, it is turning into a no-win situation that I avoid in preference of my already-existing collection.
Rhea's Obsession is a pleasant surprise. I think the other reviewers are partly right on the repeated references to Dead Can Dance, but I have to reiterate that this is only a passing similarity and not an imitation. If anything, the electronic goth elements remind me more of Collide, but I stress again that this comparison is to illustrate stylistic touches and not to imply that they are copycats.
I'm beginning to love Sue Hutton's voice; her singing is a welcome relief from the oversatured Delerium angelic-voice style. While she can certainly achieve the tremulous vocal quivers of Lisa Gerrard (DCD) and sexy murmur of kaRIN (Collide), she employs a variety of approaches to her songs and the result is a pleasant, rich listening experience.
While the obvious hooks are "Mortal Ground," "Spiritual Fear," "Dreaming Blade," and "Matrika," I am most attracted to the quiet beauty of "Nightshade" and "Spill Elixir." This is one musical couple that works very well together. Hardcore Acid Folk?Alternative world beat? Psychedelic electro-rock? I can not imagine what the hell this album is. Nor, when thinking about it, do the sound layers seem like they would make a compatable song -bulgarian(i think...) goth-enya lyrics with a rock-solid wall of electric guitar. But, from the murky pool of these influences rises a misty vapor as mesmerizing as just about any CD i've heard in ages.
This music is very edgy, almost disturbing. And unlike a good chunk of EBM (a stretch to call it so...), i think it's really important to turn down the volume a bit to really take in what this album is about. Truthfully, i can't wait to listen to it again and become once more lost in the mysteriously dark mix of... erm... whatever this is. Rhea's obsession stands alone.OBSESSED BY RHEA'S OBSESSION !Toronto musical duo, Rhea's Obsession, is the brainstorm of foxy (yeah, I know it's dated but I like it) muti-talented Sue Hutton who teamed up with Guitarist Jim Field in 1994 to form the Rhea's Obsession. When performing on stage the duo adds, Dave Klotz on keyboards and Mike Rosenthal on drums. Rhea's Obsesion is the fourth review I've done on a duo and I know of at least 4 or 5 others, so I guess they're the wave of the future. I imagine duos save on expenses, arguments, egos and every other downside of larger groups. Additionally, I guess any income generated would go farther, too. In this day and age of programed music it really doesn't matter how many band members you have, it's the music that matters. An example of this is Trent Reznor whose Nine Inch Nails and Martin Scherinc whose Hollenthon are basically solo operations but certainly sound like a fair sized group. Christopher Morris of Nicodemis also did his debut sans a band but he has since gotten associates. The only trouble is solo and duo acts are not conducive to large elaborate concert appearances but I guess studio musicians could be brought in toward that purpose. BETWEEN EARTH AND SKY I know this is a very overused cliche but I just gotta use it again, "This music is really, very hard to categorize". There I've said it now I will try to categorize it. I read where some have said Rhea's Obsession has Bulgarian and east Indian influences (odd combination). I didn't even know they played music in the former Peoples Workers Paradise of Bulgaria. Whether they do or not and whether Sue Hutton gets her inspiration from there or not, the music is intriguing. It is darkwave, it is exotic, it is gothic, it is new age, it is folk, it is ethnic, it is intoxicating, it is atmospheric, it is ethereal, it is serious music! Did I leave anything out. Oh yeah, It is not pop, it is not alternative, it is not rock, it certainly is not hip hop, it is not redundant, it is not boring and it's not metal! Many of you don't know this but after my beloved progressive metal, I like Folk / New age and between Earth and Sky fits nicely in there, It's not like, but, kind of, is like, Dead can Dance, Delerium, Loreena Mckinnitt, Kidney Thieves, Chandeen, Hungry Lucy, Black Tape for a Blue Girl, Cirque du Soleil. If you were to take an octagon and put each of these bands on a corner and draw a line from each to it's opposite, in the center where all the lines come together is Rhea's Obsession. I have described the five best songs below. "Spiritual Fear" 3:19 is a medium paced Arabic influenced piece with Sue singing in what sounds like a mild echo chamber, while Jim plays an intricate acoustic guitar in the background. "Dreaming Blade" 3:42 a definite industrial feel with pronounced drums and clinks and clanks mixed with violins in the background. Sue sounds a little Shirley Manson-ish on this song. "Nightshade" 3:41 another song with a near east feel which in addition to Sue's captivating voice in duplicate has light congas and a full orchestra backing. probably the best song. "Between Earth and Sky" 5:14 I take it back, this is the best song. Oh heck it's the co-best song. Another enchanting, near east influenced song of a nice easy going pace with heavy electric guitars and Sue again accompanying herself on vocals, much of which is chants. "Mahakala" 5:15 on this one we combine a psychedelic sound with the eastern sound and some male chanting while Jim plays a wicked whining electric guitar in the background. CONCLUSION I wanted to give this Five Stars and it's very, very close. I just felt, while the great songs were marvelous, there were three or four songs that didn't do it for me. Hell, they might do it for you, there not bad. At fiftyeight plus minutes this is a long album, so maybe the standout tracks, standout more and the lesser ones get diminished. Take the iffy tracks out and you have a forty-six minute five star album. Trouble is the other tracks are too good to lose. Quandary!!!!!! |
