Isobella
Issue #25
Surrogate Emotions on the Silver Screen (New Granada)
By Noreen Sobczyk
Published: September 1st, 2005 | 3:33pm
Pared down to just two members, but with a fully fleshed sound, Laura Poinsette and Brad Richardson create a womblike shelter of music. The intricate interplay of varying guitars, keyboards, and electronic drums on Surrogate Emotions on the Silver Screen swoop and swirl like the soundtrack to a hazy morphine-induced dream. The often simple, but beautifully delicate guitars are layered and woven like a precious, ornate musical tapestry. Comparisons to Cocteau Twins or My Bloody Valentine are obligatory.
While the music is satisfying, the vocals need work as they detract from an otherwise wonderful band. Poinsette has a beautiful voice, but her tone doesn't match the style of music. Imagine slapping Natalie Merchant over the vocals of the Cocteau Twins' Garlands and you'd get the idea. I found myself partially cradled by the music and simultaneously annoyed at the incongruence between the mood of this lush music and the less than ethereal stylings of Poinsette, whose voice is far too folk-infused to be its proper fit. The answer lies in more airy, dreamy vocals or a challenging blend of discordance.
Yet another distraction lies in the lyrics, which seem too affected — palpable when listening to the album, but more so when reading the lyric book. The first song alone contains the words “magniloquent,” “chicane,” “itinerant,” “immolate,” “elucidate,” and, for good measure, namedrops Tolstoy.
Yet Isobella's music is far too good to deny them the respect they deserve. Although surely a difficult proposition both personally and musically, the addition of a new vocalist and penning less ostentatious lyrics are all that is needed to make this good band truly great.
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