mr. Gnome
The Heart of a Dark Star
Reviewed by: Lara Supan
What a cool concept album, self recorded and mixed to perfection!
The Heart of a Dark Star is meant to be listened to in order, with most of your brain power devoted to the different ideas and themes presented throughout the album. Certainly not a set of tunes you would put on as background music, or to run to, but creative, unique and intelligent gems meant for some higher brain power. What’s amazing about this album is the sparse instrumentation. You would never guess that songs like “Rise & Shine” and “Star Stealers” only had guitar, organ, synth, percussion and vocals to work with.
The biggest powerhouse song on The Heart of a Dark Star is “Star Stealers”, which is a percussion driven, upbeat song with rapid fire lyrics and dynamic guitar licks. It would be perfect if you could understand what on earth lead vocalist Nicole Barille was saying, but it’s forgivable because of the impressive quality of the overall sound. Another great aspect of this album is all of the a cappella jaunts in it. “Sea”, “Hangunder”, and “Fools” have long sections of Barille harmonizing with herself- even creating a background for her own singing in “Sea”.
The versatility, creative genius and masterful recording that is showcased on this album is impressive to say the least, and The Heart of a Dark Star deserves a listen. Get a group of friends together, grab some wine, listen to the album and discuss. You won’t be disappointed!
Rating: Bad-Ass
