STYLE Ethereal, passionate female vocals and subtle shadowy electronica. Falling You create moody synthetic soundscapes of drifting tonal beds, lonely strings, dark washes and haunting drones punctuated by the odd piano - sometimes beatless, carried sometimes by programmed percussion. The various voices are often given plenty of space, instrumental accompaniment tending to be low key, tastefully sparse - almost ambient in places. Plenty of atmosphere thickens the air, touching the words with colour and building an aura around each vocalist. Beats don\'t dominate when they are present, rather they work to drive the smooth instrumentation into motion - simple rhythmic structures that maintain the focus firmly on the singers. There is a strongly cinematic thread running through many tracks that at its most brooding might suggest a gothic influence, but more accurately reflects the luxurious appeal of darker tones and sombre atmospheres, the drama of eventide, the mystique of ambiguity.
MOOD Human is a subtle, serene and captivatingly heady album, one of misted expanse and uncertain depth. The sound often has doleful classical elegance about it - ambient drones wafting in ethereal strands that evoke the same low blue light as the cover art, vocal deliveries that range from lonely angelic weightlessness through to emotive human expression that seems at times to be drawn up from the depths of the soul. The words are poetic and deeply personal, the music sorrowful, beautiful, transporting.
OVERALL Falling You is primarily John Zorko\'s project - he produces the music and collaborates with a series of talented singers that each bring their own unique personality within the fold. Contributing both lyrics and melodies are here - Dru Allen (of This Ascension, Mirabilis), Jennifer McPeak, Erica Mulkey (Unwoman), Aimee Page and Suzanne Perry (of Love Spirals Downwards) bringing the Human touch, each uniquely brimming with feeling and melancholy beauty. Aimee Page employing oriental style inflections that invoke exotic association, Dru Allen soaring, touching dramatic heights, Suzanne Perry concluding the album with gentle, emotional softness. Zorko\'s arrangements range from delicate melodic themes to textural layers and atonal noise - deeply saturated mood pieces, beguiling and absorbing. Human is the band\'s follow-up to 2005\'s Touch - the band having started out in 1996 releasing their debut Mercy back in 1998.
WHO WILL LIKE THIS ALBUM Human will appeal to fans of electronic female vocal music with a leaning toward the darker tones. If you enjoy Lisa Gerrard, Delerium\'s moodier material or the kind of soundtrack music that establishes wistful, dreamy atmosphere then this could well be one for you. Falling You have pretty much captured the Morpheus acronym: Music of relaxation - passionate, heavenly, earthly, unearthly, synthetic.
Read more...