PRESS
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Mi & L'au | Live Review
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Plus One Magazine (UK) | Alex Lawson Long live Mi and L'AuJanuary 9, 2006There's a great MJ Hibbert song on his latest record which talks about what happens when no one turns up to gigs- the promoter excuses themselves, says they can't work out why the price, internet blogging and 50 fliers didn't work out - and its ace. And as MJ says just ignore it and dance along with the other bands and their three friends.Which is what happened here. Altogether quite predictable as the still rising Fin/French combo Mi and L'Au are only two records and one Devendra Banhart link into something which shall hopefully blossom with wider recognition and also a fairly warm Friday night wasn't really gonna tempt in too many apart from the most contemplative. But we've all been to you, the barman and an old bloke in a scarf gigs.But those who did witness it were treated to the funny support delight of Nancy Elizabeth Cunliffe (the posh name completely contradicts her broad Northern accent) who, armed with a small harp, delivers a half hour of largely engaging soporific tunage. Full of quirky little comments and an amusing self-awareness its moments like this that......
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Akron/Family | Review
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Caught in the Cross Fire (UK) | No Author Creditedit's a remarkable and artistically compelling listen Sept 06 If you are a fan of the stranger, slightly unhinged side of psychedelic indie such as The Polyphonic Spree and Broken Social Scene the Akron/Family are going to be right up your street. If you are not then be warned, Meek Warrior is some strange shit. Souding like it's influenced by a hundred different bands from The Velvet Underground to Pink Floyd with a little Bob Dylan thrown in for good measure, it's a remarkable and artistically compelling listen and with the ever growing mountain of run of the mill indie-fads churning out the same old shit, that in itself makes Meek Warrior definitely worth a go. It's possible however that on hearing the album in its entirety, you will sit and wonder whether what you just heard was unintentionally fantastic and a result of pure accident or whether it was simply a conscious endeavour stabbing at unique aspirations. Whatever, every now and then a little mystery is a good thing....
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Akron/Family | Review
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Allmusic.com | Thom Jurek Akron/Family are up to what they do best here: shatter expectationsMeek WarriorOctober '06The most beautiful thing about the Akron/Family, this collective quartet of New York musicians who record for Michael Gira's Young God label, is that they are virtually unclassifiable. Is it rock? Post-rock? Acid folk? Freak folk? Free improvisation? Ultimately, who cares what it is, that it is is what matters most, and that is displayed prominently on this seven-cut "special album" (according to Gira). It's over 35 minutes, and includes the nine-plus-minute opus "Blessing Force" that moves from silence to rock-out mantra, to chant, to intricate polyrhythmic interplay, to free-form, improv, wig city back to guitar, bass, drums zone-out to skronk. All you can say for a brief second is "Oh yeah," before they enter with acoustic guitars, hand percussion and the paraphrased English translation of a Buddhist mantra on "Gone Beyond." There's melody and beauty and space and earth in sharp contrast to the fire of the previous cut. The vocals here are utterly beautiful and joyous and the spiritual vibe is set. Clocking in at only 3:22, it would have been interesting to hear what this might have been like at ten minutes.......
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Lisa Germano | Interview
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The Phoenix, Providence Rhode Island | MARY K. ZAJAC Connecting with Lisa Germano Definitely Maybe 10/3/2006 5:30:54 PMPROCESSING: "I know when the song is done because it isn't about me." Lisa Germano wants to know my cat's name. Said cat has just yowled as she walked through the kitchen, where I'm talking to Germano long-distance, so I oblige. "Tell Sylvie, Lisa says hello," Germano urges and, with a somewhat sheepish grin, I do. I'm not totally unprepared for Germano's interest in my cat (I know she's a cat person, that her late cat, Miamo-Tutti, inspired "golden cities," a song on her latest album, in the maybe world), but I'm pleasantly surprised at Germano's immediate warmth and her easy ability to connect. After all, this is a musician known as much for her trips into the dark world of sexual abuse, depression, and alcohol on the albums Geek the Girl1994) and Lullaby for Liquid Pig (2003) as she is for touring as the fiddle player in John Mellencamp's band. But, as I soon find out, this is also a musician who realizes that her angst isn't everyone's, who even laughs sympathetically as she recalls one young woman's negative reaction to a......
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Lisa Germano | Review
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Rottenmeats.com |Cloudboy The tunes have a real "music box" sensibility, delicate cobwebs that glistenThursday, October 12, 2006 In the Maybe World Following on from Liquid Pig this new offering is musically quieter, more subdued with less sonic flourishes than its predecessor. This characteristic stripping away (something that's been in evidence since Slide) makes a great platform for that gorgeously dispassionate voice combined with her pertinent piano accompaniment, to achieve an emotional honesty that is paradoxically uplifting.At first, lyrically her references are less oblique than previous works but the personal subject matter continues to flow unhindered, just not as fiery as on previous outings more like resigned unhappiness I suppose.Mostly made up of beautiful piano led songs about a yearning to feel ok but never quite getting there, like on the opener The Day, where she intones "like you're running from your laughter".The tunes have a real "music box" sensibility, delicate cobwebs that glisten with her melancholy, holding those disheartened lyrics together with a childlike optimism that seems to be dashed on every second line. Don't get me wrong, this is not a morose album, full of doom and despair but one full of the warmth, describing the inconsistency of what it's......