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Review: Balmorhea's 'Constellations' Debuts Tonight
Friday, February 19th
Central Presbyterian Church (200 East 8th Street)
doors at 8pm, $12
[info]
Austin’s known for producing huge music via small ensemble—see Explosions in the Sky and Western Vinyl labelmate Ola Podrida—that invariably gets labeled as cinematic. But Balmorhea temper their dramatic flourish with a base of spare, open chords like slow-burning post-rock flares. Their last album,All Is Wild, All Is Silent, tugged some wilderness into their disciplined, classical style, escorting chamber music outdoors. Their eagerly awaited newest, Constellations, is set to release February 23rd after a debut performance tonight at Central Presbyterian Church.
Last year, when (in our humble opinion) Austin earned all over again its cultural titles, deeds and laurels, All Is Wild, All Is Silent gave us yet another reason to be proud. Carrying on our tradition of translating the epic-ness of Texas landscape into instrumental music, it’s the kind of album that can wrest the act of describing Texas’ size back from the blowhards. On Constellations, there is nothing as rousing as "Settler," which opened All Is Wild, All Is Silent at a gallop, but it's ultimately a more rewarding listen.
Naturally, a loose song cycle intended to capture the spirit of stargazing may meet with listeners at a loss for the bravado that marked the highlights of Balmorhea's last release. All is far from wild on Constellations, but the silences on this stripped down effort speak more than those of any previous. Balmorhea has hardly been found lacking by critics--certainly never in compositional acumen or artistic precision. If anything, what was present held back All is Wild, All is Silent- it was entirely composed, so well put together, that we were reminded how much a little breathlessness adds an intimacy complimentary to such gorgeous composition. After all, the label 'cinematic' does imply a step removed from the action.
All but stripped of percussion, Constellations showcases the most intriguing threads of past albums; lyric-less vocals and acoustic drone elevate "Palestrina" to great heights. And "Bowspirit" seems to find the staid Balmorhea swooning over all this beauty at long last. We fully expect fans to do the same at tonight's debut performance.
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Advance tickets to tonight's show have sold out, but there are still a limited number of tickets available at the door.
Balmorhea [Myspace] [Official]
Damien Jurado [Myspace] [Official]
