This release by London-based Mandala sees what could be labelled modern folk though definitely with a traditional slant and utilising a large range of instrumentation and musicians. These multi-layered arrangements vary from the competent to the sublime and would make a fine instrumental release on their own.

When the vocals do appear (which is increasingly sparingly as the EP progresses) I am not totally convinced by them. Although both the male and female parts are proficiently performed they have the overall effect of pushing the music beyond melodic folk and more towards a lounge bar fantasy sound. In fact listen to the title music to Hotel Babylon on the BBC for an idea. But this should not detract from the overall effect. I think there may be more to come from Mandala if they could harness the vocal in a way that really complements the other sounds.
                            Read more...
                        

                            
Before Memory delivered a sound and expectation. Mandala's work has been described as 'Folk-Noir' and 'Melancholy laden melodies with soaring strings' by the Guardian and Time Out respectively. The two short descriptions, capture much of the band's sound but miss the strength that underpins it.

Band frontman, Neil Marsh, writes the songs, but it's down to the whole band to sort out the arrangement. There are cellos and violins in the arrangements, as well as harmonium and mellotron. This is not an instrumentation choice for shiny happy music.

What it is is an instrumentation choice for well thought out music, with just a touch of electronica. There's also an odd power chord that appears in the course of a number of songs on this release, that serve to help keep you on edge whilst you wait for the next surprise to come out of sound or lyric.

Upfront, I don't think that Neil is the best singer I've come across, either for power or for tone of voice, but he makes up for that by writing to his know limitations and surrounding the songs with great musicianship.

The style definitely lives in the folk/roots world, but it also pulls in sounds from the rock and jazz world, blending to enhance rather than distract. Mandala have a record they can be proud off and I look forward to their next cut.
                            Read more...
                        

                            
Someone must have been putting something in the water in the UK over the last couple of years. Either that or there's been this potential scene in the UK for ages but it's either always be repressed or it's just been waiting for the right time to emerge. Perhaps now is the right time. What am I talking about? I guess it's alt-folk, or at least that's what it's most commonly called these days, but I rather prefer the terms folk-noir or folk-prog. Of course there's Circulus, who look like they're slap bang out of the 1970s, and then there's that lovely and eclectic duo Revolving Doris, and now there's Mandala.

Here I'm reviewing their two debut EPs that were both released in July 2005. I'm reviewing the two EPs together, which could be considered a mistake as they present two very different sides to this quite amazing band.

'The Tears Of A Thousand Angels' represents a gentler, softer, more reflective, intimate and melancholic element to Mandala's sound. The tracks on this EP are very lush, very lovely, very beautiful, with sweet vocal harmonies, lots of acoustic guitar and layers of mellotron.

As something of a contrast, 'Before Memory' gives you a definite taste of a rockier, livelier, more energetic, more electric, and more expansive sounding Mandala. Tracks on this EP feel sonically bigger and the arrangements are definitely on a grander scale, plus the combination of electric guitars, bass and drums (all entirely absent from the songs on 'The Tears' EP) give Mandala a definitely rocky feel.

'The Tears Of A Thousand Angels', then, sounds more like Nick Drake or early Genesis, with it's definitely 1970s-styled folk-prog, while 'Before Memory' is much more in the realms of Jeff Buckley, The Tea Party, or The Levellers mixing folk-rock with epic swells of Middle Eastern sounds.

I imagine that many of the numbers on 'Before Memory' go down particularly well live and there's certainly a real drive about them, though if I'm honest I much prefer the enchanting acoustic numbers on 'The Tears' overall. There's nothing really wrong with those rockier tracks, and in a sense it's a case of apples and oranges. Mandala clearly have the songwriting abilities to make both types of tune work and it's refreshing to hear that they're not willing to stick exclusively with one specific style, but from a personal point of view it's the more reflective tracks that work best, at least on CD.

One of the band's strengths is an impressive and flexible line-up. Mandala are built around the core duo of Neil Marsh (the band's songwriter, lead vocalist and guitarist, who also offers occasional flute, piano and mellotron) and Francis Booth (the band's bassist) who formed the group back in 1997, but they're joined on these two EPs by an assortment of talented additional musicians who help to bring a variety of colours and timbres to the band's sound.

And Marsh's vocals are an undoubted selling point he often takes particular inspiration from the style and sound of David Sylvian and at times you'd swear that it was Sylvian singing, but he's able to adapt to the wide range of styles that Mandala produce. On the rockier numbers Marsh is more likely to sound like Jeff Buckley or Tom Baxter, though at times it does sound if he's straining a little, another reason why I prefer the more delicate performances on 'The Tears'.

But whatever it is that they're putting in the water, it's producing some splendid effects. There's some great songwriting, arrangements and atmospheres on offer across the two EPs, but it will be interesting to see how they decide to best balance the two different sides of Mandala so clearly in evidence here. I look forward to hearing how they deal with this on their first full album.

Best tracks: 'Shadows Play', 'In Your Arms', 'An Echo of You', 'Spoken', 'Sun'
                            Read more...
                        

                            
The voice and guitar of Neil Marsh is the driving force behind Mandala, who have released two EPs to date, each containing five stirring and emotive cuts of modern, dark folk / jazz / rock. As if Jeff Buckley had met Radiohead in a subterranean cellar and mixed their best elements into a music both new and compelling.
                            Read more...