WILLOW: Sweet Dark Demon

willow

Sweet Dark Demon

© 2001 2001 (601551010120)

CD coming back in stock soon.

If you want us to email you the minute this CD arrives, enter your name and email address here. We will not give or sell your info to anyone, and will not use it for any other reason than to tell you when it arrives.

Dark, melodic folk-rock orginals carried by a deep, lush voice that ranges from a hushed lullaby to a soaring, anguished wail.

tracks

1 Seem to Have Nothing
2 Scotch
3 Four Corners
4 Down
5 Dead Days
6 Keep Me This Way
7 Absinthe
8 Early Spring
9 Eastlake Bridge
10 Sweet Dark Demon
11 Skinny Girl

notes

"...a collection of songs that are lyrically charged, gathering raw energy like a lightning rod in an electric storm."
~Tom Scanlon, The Seattle Times

"Willow is able to give voice to those vague, disturbing fears and longings that lurk at the edges of our awareness, that will not step forward entirely into the light and yet will not go away."
~Richard Middleton, Victory Review

"Her voice has both the strength of a raging tornado and the grace of a light breeze..."
~Rachel Heisler, Albuquerque Weekly Alibi

" Willow's CD, Sweet Dark Demon, features her whole band bringing wonderfully dark passionate music to the listener. Willow's band, Jeremy Sever (drums/percussion), Ken Stubblefield (bass guitar/violin), and Kevin Wood (guitars), creates a mesmerizing ambience in which Willow's deeply moving and sultry voice reigns! "
~ Michael Armenia, AEM Music

"Seattle singer-songwriter Willow's second release is eerie and ethereal, featuring her half whispered vocals and oblique lyrics, and rich, electro-acoustic arrangements."
~Richard Middleton, Victory Review


"The quietly powerful Sweet Dark Demon expands upon last year's self-titled solo acoustic debut with dreamy, jazzy arrangements swirling around the singer's haunting and silky voice, creating a kind of folk noir that's as eerie as it is soothing."
~Bill Frost, Salt Lake Weekly


In the last few days of September 2000, Willow took her band through the doors of Seattle's Studio Litho. For ten sweet days the music poured out of Willow and into the hands of producer Tucker Martine (Bill Frisell, Wayne Horvitz, Carrie Ackre, Aiko Shimada). Her band pulled all-nighters and early mornings and Tucker pulled everything out of Willow's thoughts, fingertips, voice and soul...by the end of autumn, Sweet Dark Demon was emerging.

Sweet Dark Demon, released April 2001, is a welcomed journey into a dark, melodic mood - sweet and pure while pained and broken.

reviews

Please log in to review this album.

  • moody mystical
    author: lee

    a moody mystical dance around the fire, sitting still yet being everywhere at once.

  • Spine chilling songs that get caught in your head
    author: Skaldfell

    This is a dark album that carries some demons, alright. But boy is it sweet! Lyrics like this are not what you will find on most albums or airwaves--they are too honest, too "I've been there" (one way or the other). While the music itself at times revolves around similar rifts and themes, it works the lyrics well. If you like to run your fingers lightly down your lover's spine on a cloudy autumn night and feel the goosebumps rise, just slip on Willow's "Sweet Dark Demon." Anytime.

  • Makes my day!
    author: Martin

    If you like atmospheric and melodic folk with a dark touch and beautiful female voices - get this album, immediately! If you like music from artists such as Jesse Sykes, Hope Sanodval, Liz Durrett or Faith Kleppinger - don't hesitate and fill your CD-player with pure passion... I'm sooooo glad I did and will surely buy EVERYTHING I can get from Willow.

  • Bumbershoot Festival Review
    author: Charles Bermant

    Every smorgasbord festival allows a no-risk sampling of new tastes, and Willow fit that bill at Bumbershoot. This waif-like singer led her band through a selection of stark downer songs. "Scotch is an old man's drink, and I'll take mine with water," she croons. "Love is a restless thing and I lost mine to time and age." Since it was an indoor show, there was no walk-in traffic -- even if there was a steady flow of people in and out, between songs. Part of this was people being "Seattle polite," but some could be attributed to the somber nature of Willow's songs. If you were to get up in the middle and leave, she might just slash her own wrists. Or not. She would finish a solemn song and then say something like, "One of my biggest fears about playing onstage is that my fly will be down and my guitar won't be low enough to cover it." Later, she provided the key to the enjoyment of depressive art: "Embrace the dark things in your life, and the light will be so much lighter." Some people no doubt took that advice home to ponder...

  • Dark chocolate and red wine on a rainy Sunday.
    author: Mark Cavener

    The way an album should flow. Masterfully crafted and compelling from start to finish. A must have for any music collection!

  • 'WIllow bends to her deeper emotions...'
    author: Tom Scanlon, Seattle Times

    Willow's band elegantly matches her moods on "Sweet Dark Demon," creating meditative grooves and haunting, surreal melodies. At times, the album is like an adult "Alice in Wonderland".

email

Please log in to email this artist.