poem
if, after trance extravaganza of "heavens earth," you were expecting an album filled with high-speed dance hits, you will be as surprised as I was to find an album that is a lot more similar to "karma" as to anything else. this album has a strange effect on me, it is as sweet and exquisite as a candy; it is almost a guilty pleasure to listen to the tracks that are incredibly universal combining few flamenco guitar elements, classical passages, smooth electronica with wonderfully orchestrated flowing melodies, familiar gregorian chants and at times softer and darker textures that might be familiar to fans of early delerium.
guest vocals is something that have always identified delerium since "karma". this time the list of guest female vocalists is even longer including aude, leigh nash of sixpence none the richer, mediaeval babes, jenifer mclaren, kirsty hawkshaw, joanna stevens with addition of first male vocalist on "daylight" (the track that is almost too poppy).
one of the reasons I enjoy this album so much is that it really is a timeless release, an eclectic yet very accessible mix of rich melodies and variety of styles and epochs transformed and blended together. the amount of guest vocalists as well as acceptable sound can be perceived as a clever marketing move, but this does not degrade the music in any way and could be left as an exercise to the critics that have nothing better to say.
opening epic "terra firma" combines gregorian chants and warm mix of flamenco guitar and gentle electronica. recognizable basslines and flowing melody is undeniably delerium. sweet melancholy and gentle innocence of following "innocente" make it one of my absolute favorites on this cd; the combination of leigh nash's vocals and strong yet very intimate and fragile melody is absolutely incredible.
the touch of exotica and mystery that was always present in delerium's material is more subtle here, adding yet another layer to the sensuous graceful world built by leeb and peterson.
from playful groove of "aria" we go through a succession of gorgeous soft electronica tracks that bring us to "nature's kingdom" where innocent and infinitely fragile voice of kirsty hawkshaw adds a touch of melancholy and even decadence to the music that combines noticeably more rock elements than previous tracks. even more rock elements surface on "poems of Byzantium." "temptation" and closing monumental "amongst the ruins" are a little closer to dark splendor of early delerium, building upon more ethereal and darker atmospheric motives.
it is surprising that in past few weeks I have listened to so many outstanding albums that break out of conventional genres. the talent and intuition together with deep knowledge of music allowed those musicians to rise above the boundaries and create a new flavor of electronic music that stands out independently of the time when it was made. as for this album, it might become one of my favorite delerium albums so far; while I do miss the dark mystery of early albums, "poem" offers a wealth of emotions ranging from romantic charm to exotic splendor, from intimate conversations to epic flowing melodies. this album should pretty much appeal to anyone with a taste for good music.