Ida
Issue #35
Lovers Prayers (Polyvinyl)
By Jessie Nelson
Published: March 1st, 2008 | 12:32pm
Ida’s latest release, Lovers Prayers, is heartbreakingly beautiful and could be the soundtrack to the studio in the woods in which the band recorded the album. The almost-polyrhythmic ebb and flow of the drums and the tender but earnest vocals on the title track permeate the entire gorgeous album.
So far removed from what’s on the radio (or even on the indie rock radar), Ida’s use of minimalism and textural sound painting created an album that forces one to stop and smell the roses in the fast-paced world we live in. Drawing from their influences of folk, rock, blues, and world music, the lush instrumentation creates soundscapes that go from thick to thin in the blink of an eye, yet not frenetic in any way. Well-placed vocals, guitars, basses, drums, violins, and percussion all subtly add to the overall lo-fi but beautiful sound. Some would call this part of the “lethargy rock” genre, but Ida doesn’t sludge their way through any of the 14 songs on this beautiful album. Tracks such as “Lovers Prayers,” “The Weight of the Straw,” “Willow Tree,” “Worried Mind Blues,” and “See the Stars” all float along at their own pace and the result is minimalism at its best.
Put this on at twilight since it’s a wonderful accompaniment to the evening setting in.
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