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Homer's Odyssey had its sirens, the lovely bewitching sea monsters
whose sweet song lured sailors to their deaths. Embo Blake's Odyssey
has the bewitching Sonya Aurora Madan, with her majestic
and crystal voice, and complete lack of sea-monsterishness. I
swear to you, this woman could rip the heart out of my chest and
hand it to me, and if she was singing at the same time, I would
simply thank her and continue to bask in her glorious voice.
All that said, Gravity Pulls is the latest release from
Echobelly, a fantastic band that first hit the scene back
somewhere around 1995. I remember it well, because the rumor mill
at the time was saying "the girl from Curve is in
a new band." At which point, I eagerly sought out said new
band, only to find that it was not Toni Halliday who was
in this new group, Echobelly, but the girl who played great guitars
and had cool haircuts (sorry I don't remember her name). But I
listened to the record anyway, and I was a fan almost immediately.
Sonya Madan's voice was wonderfully fresh and clean at a time
when, with few exceptions, female vocalists were either non-existent,
or raspy and harsh sounding in the alt-rock genre. They put out
a couple of records and had some success in the UK and Japan,
but not too much stateside. I think that could all change with
Gravity Pulls.
So here's the plan… Each of you tells three of your friends
to tell three of their friends, etc. etc. about this new record,
and soon, we'll have everyone basking in the glorious life-altering
flush of Echobelly. With songs like the serenely beautiful title
track "Gravity Pulls" and the noisy "You Started
A Fire In The Heart Of A Wasted Life", this album is sure
to appeal to many people. "To Get Me Thru The Good Times"
reminds my humble ears of "Ordinary World'-era Duran Duran,
with its haunting strings and echoing guitars. And if you are
not convinced by the time you get to track five, "Big Sky
Mind", you will most certainly be a believer at that point.
This song simply puts me into that particular frame of mind that
is filled with wonder at the immense amount of beauty around me,
regardless of where I might find myself.
Yes, at one time Echobelly blended neatly into a genre with some
other bands… but that was then, this is now. There is no
more blending. Gravity Pulls launches the groundwork sound
that this band has carefully crafted for so long into a fully
realized vision of hope and beauty and wonder. The songs are filled
with a vibrant life and a yearning that few bands have ever been
able to fully realize on a recording. Tell everyone you know…
you've found an answer to obtaining life's peace and happiness.
It's Echobelly.
-Embo Blake
Track Listing
1. Gravity Pulls
2. To Get Me Thru The Good times
3. You Started A Fire In the Heart Of A Wasted Life
4. Djinn
5. Big Sky Mind
6. Strangely Drawn
7. A Good Day
8. What you Deserve
9. One In A Million
10. All Tomorrow Brings
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