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Julianna Barwick - The Magic Place
:: April 11, 2011 :: by Danny Bush
Julianna Barwicks's The Magic Place delivers sleek, sultry and siren-like choral melodies over light instrumental tracks. Her vocal tone is highly reminiscent of Enya and Clannad while establishing her own far-out, phased, unintelligible lyrics.
The Magic Place is Barwick's second album release following Sanguine, on the Asthmatic Kitty record label. Hailing from Brooklyn NY, Barwick has self-defined her genre of music as experimental and/or other.
Much remains the same on this album, as funky flowing rhythms lie underneath a well balanced bed of vocal harmonies. The disc doesn't offer much in terms of variety, yet isn't the least bit static. Each track placement has definite purpose in moving the album along thematically. Tracks like "Envelop" and "White Flag" truly embody the care in which Barwick layers her vocal arrangements. Other tracks, like "Flown" and "Prizewinning," use less but more elegant layering design.
Julianna Barwick's The Magic Place is a pleasant surprise and highly enjoyable listen for those looking for beautifully sophisticated vocal harmonies delivered in an transcendent, ambient waveform.
Listen to the ambient "Envelop":