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Jo Gabriel

Island

2005 | Kalinkaland Records | KAL00015

CD

Regular Price: $18.98
Online Sale Price! $6.98
Tracks:
  1. Objects in the mirror
  2. Island
  3. Tinderbox
  4. Hold my Breath
  5. Mother May I
  6. I’m Okay
  7. Wash away
  8. Little Birds
  9. The simple truth
  10. If not
  11. Broken
    Click Here to listen to the Mp3 Teaser

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| German Import | Originally from her beloved New York, now Jo Gabriel lives at Starkweather Creek, in Wisconsin, in the middle of the heart of America. In this isolation, inspirational and where one can think about life, she writes her songs. And there is always the dark sides of the moods, the mystical reeling moments, that influence Jo Gabriel's retreat into solitude. With Island she created in the single handed attempt an adjuratory charming piano oriented album with each piano note virtually resembling a raindrop, and each text line a memory album transforming feminine eccentricities into music.

Her songs pulsate, brilliantly harmonized and full of rough edges, pleasantly accompanied. She worked together with Butch Vig studio crony Wendy Bugatti, and the sound was set, sharply and tingling so that it resembles a tonal connectedness. And of course, performed with her long time band member, legendary drummer phenom Linda Mackley. Island comes purring like a kitten, lulling you on, so that you long to take a glass of wine in a soft warm sofa. Romantic Wavepop, paired with piano - Farewells like only This Mortal Coil or Kate Bush are capable of, give Island the offering, the strength, to warm your soul.

Jo Gabriel had a small breakthrough when her music actually provided the background for the MTV program Real World and Making The Band. Was that a sign? She certainly would see it that way:" "I am fascinated by obscure little stories about people or places. Fantastical events or interesting mythos. How Hailey's Comet appeared both the day Mark Twain was born and the day he died."..... With this album, Jo Gabriel keeps her demons, who sing about her in her songs, pushed and sometimes longingly beseech. "I dare not dwell in the shadows for too long, lest it leave a stain on my psyche. Like Rubyat said "I am myself Heaven and Hell", she says and we are of one thought with her in this sentiment.

A review from MusicalDiscoveries.com:
There are some really gorgeous things happening on Jo Gabriel's CD Island (Kalinkaland (Germany) 02045, 2005). Her piano playing is absolutely stunning, rich and passionate. And it is of interest to note that she is entirely self-taught. The piano is often accompanied by lavish, sinewy cello that weaves in and out of the rest of the music--sometimes soft and bending, and at other times creating a taut wire of tension through the piece.

Gabriel's long-time drummer, Linday Mackley, is a commanding and purposeful presence without ever becoming intrusive--just listen near the end of "Wash Away." Electric guitar, bass and electronic sounds embellish and support many of the songs even further.

Beautiful, fluid melodies conspire with clean production, and the result is music that sneaks into the recesses of the mind--ethereal, yet catchy as hell. But at its core this is mournful music, full of questions and muted unease. And the delicate quality of Ms. Gabriel's supple, multi-octave voice glimmers with fragility and emotion throughout.

In contrast to the prettiness of the music, the lyrics on Island hold a glowing candle up to the stark faces of loneliness, disillusionment and fear. But in the end it is hope and compassion that are reflected back in the fractured light. The closing song, "Broken," is alone worth the price of the CD and is a classic by any standards--striking, sorrowful, yearning, pretty. As its title suggests, it is the sound of heartbreak. "Broken" appears in another (equally successful) incarnation on an earlier album, and it will stand the test of time--just watch.

Despite the undeniable quality of Gabriel's music and her clear expressive talent, it is the camouflaged parts of her songs that show the most courage and complexity. The more these slumbering little details emerge, the more they reveal a very elegant and finely spun work as a whole. Especially intriguing are the strange harmonic backgrounds that curl in smokey tendrils up from underneath the primary music. For example, the shimmery, pulsing, almost dissonant sounds on "Broken," and the high, warbling strings on "Hold My Breath," and the other-worldly cricket that joins in at the end of "Wash Away."

These hidden sounds bleed through the otherwise solid structure of the songs, and it is within these bold, inspired moments that the listener will realize that, though the album is extremely lovely and heartfelt, it scratches only the surface of this artist's potential.-Hannah Fury, Austin, Texas


Other Albums by This Artist
  1. Tinderbox maxi-cd Maxi-CD (Kalinkaland, 2006)
  2. Fools and Orphans CD (Kalinkaland, 2009)
Merchandise by This Artist None at this time.