Reviewed by MICK MERCER well known journalist and author of gothic reviews, and creator of the magazine THE MICK
"It's a work of art, from start to finish, from cover to cover"
PRISCILLA HERNÁNDEZ
ANCIENT SHADOWS The Ghost And The Fairy
Yidneth
It's that age old story of molecular biologist turned fantasy illustrator meeting sympathetic musicians and creates shifting gothic-New Age tableaux worthy of International Merit. A story of passion, where dark commercial overlords are banished, heralding a crusade of independent action. It comes in a lavish gatefold digipack, with two booklets, both illustrated, with full lyrics ands explanations of the actual songs, including a password to receive exclusive online content, which is always a joyful bonus.
The atmospheric intro 'Facing The Dream' with its hectic birdcall leads swiftly into the balmy, aching 'Away' where the collision between youth and adult expectations crest a commercial grace that's on the pop side of ethereal, and quite mesmerising. 'Ancient Shadow' rolls along inquisitively, like a sturdy Kate Bush offshoot and 'I Steal The Leaves' exists in that same vacuum of idealised sentiments and New Age stylings...
Where the boundaries are between the New Age world and Færy landscape I know not. The Ethereal world is lit clearly enough with deep artistic undercurrents acting as a moat to protect its quality without the lighter scenes dissolving it too much, but someone like Priscilla can somehow combine the dewy Celtic sound of 'The Willow's Lullaby' with a creepier feel to 'The Call Of The Nymph' that reminds me of the 'Merlin' tv adaptation, and so the fantasy and historical merge, and Ethereal comes tinged with haunting pipes and benign commercial rhythms. Just as Clannad once achieved. It's very attractive.
'Nothing' is interesting, being close to alt-indie singer-songwriter fare, except that it deals with the isolation of a ghost watching people rejoicing/emotion, and wishing to experience that again itself. 'Haunted' would appeal to any fans of Ego Likeness with its lighter dancey trails and dark, rich vocals. The scurrying, excitable 'Nightmare' is murkier material with a dark tension, 'Fairytale' a mere snapshot. 'The Realms Of Twilight' is another gorgeous floater of a song, with thrilling soft vocals and shuffling washes of sound given a poppy openness, and the gentle, heartfelt 'Lament' is even more beautifully expressed and touching in its mild expanses. 'Ahora Que Te Has Ido' is a short, elegant instrumental, followed by an equally brief but transporting 'The Prince And The Fairy' and the gracious, expressive 'I'm Right Here' with some exquisite piano.
If the album has a fault it's that too many songs fall into emotional easy listening, but that's what she has set as the overall mood and you're soon enveloped by it, but things change with 'Sueño Muerto' being in a different language, with lush tones, and then the strings and tantalising otherworldliness of 'Facing The Dream' closes with some barren, eerie ecclesiastical swirls.
It's a work of art, from start to finish, from cover to cover.
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