PRESS
-
Mi and L'au | Review
()
Philadelphia Daily News | Jonathan Takiffspare, fragile, at turns icy cold and warm Jan 13/06Go minimalist with Mi and L'AuWhat's the musical equivalent of hearts a-fluttering and wind whistling in the trees? Where's the sonic balm that can soothe what ails you?The delicate, thoughtful whispers of Mi and L'Au surely fill these bills. She (Mi) is from Finland; he (L'Au) is French. The duo met in Paris, where they fell in love and co-mingled creatively with kindred spirit Devendra Banhart (whose song "Gentle Soul" was written for L'Au).Nowadays their music is crafted in a rustic cabin in the Finnish woods, and it surely sounds it - spare, fragile, at turns icy cold and warm as a roaring fireplace.Devotees of the minimalist, soul-ruminating school that's also given us Nick Drake, Will Oldham and Damien Rice know that this is music best appreciated in a "near field" setting - either on earphones or in an intimate concert space....
-
Mi and L'au | Review
()
The Providence Phoenix - RI | Jim Macniethey arrive with an indie badge of honorJan 13/06A Finnish model meets a French guitarist in Paris. They get romantic and decamp to her homeland, a place known for its splendid isolation. They opt for the most splendid part of that isolation, heading off to a rural cabin to articulate the sounds of silence. They achieve their goal; on their self-titled disc on Young God, Mi & L'au prove to be one of the most graceful and alluring acts in the freak folk scene. Their dreamy tunes are defined by the genuflections to nuance that top the singers' agenda. Waxing delicate usually comes with a host of travails ‹ it's a short walk from dreamy to dozing. But Mi & L'au's songs grip you as they whisper their way through some truly low-key dramas. And they arrive with an indie badge of honor: L'au is the "gentle soul" in the Devendra Banhart song of the same name. Fans of Joanna Newsom, Diana Darby, and Lisa Germano should investigate immediately......
-
Mi and L'au | Review
()
Philadelphia Enquirer | Steve Klinge full of implications, mysteries, and often, beautyJanuary 13 06In Mi and L'au's songs, the silences carry as much weight as the sounds. Recorded in an isolated cabin in Finland - Mi is Finnish, L'au is French - the couple's self-titled debut builds on little more than Mi's whispery, childlike soprano and L'au's Nick Drake-like acoustic guitar picking and his occasional intimate vocals. With overdubs from members of Akron/Family, piano, strings, bells, and mandolin provide incidental color, but everything moves haltingly, with lots of pauses and space. Similar to Lisa Germano or Low, Mi and L'au make isolated, barely-there music, full of implications, mysteries, and often, beauty. "A fallen star is pretty, but then it disappears," they sing together in "Philosopher," and they could be describing their own brief songs....
-
Mi And L'au | Review
()
Transformonline.com | Abel Folgar Somewhere in Finland a couple makes beautiful music together. Thursday. Jan 12, It's true: somewhere in Finland, a couple is making beautiful music together. Music that is sentimental, atmospheric, and pleasing to the palate. Whimsical, guided by a childlike innocence... such is the work of French L'au and Finnish Mi. It's kinda hard to say that this stuff is folk or even folky yeah, some qualities are there, but they are certainly shaped by their humble surroundings. If anything, L'au's experience in soundtrack work is evident in the fantasy landscapes of the instrumentation, though far from a commercially sounding description, there is an incredible sense of tenderness, even in the strange sadness that permeates the music.Not depressive sadness nor nostalgic: it's like an organism knowing its fate (i.e. eventual end/death), forced into creating something completely beautiful and honest so that it may live well beyond the scheduled end. "I've Been Watching You," "Andy," and "Christmas Soul" are delicious examples of their work, as is the linked mp3 of "Older." Great debut album: makes me wanna cuddle with my lady and pull slowly and softly on her lips with my teeth....
-
Akron/Family and Angels of Light | Review
()
www.treblezine.com | Jeff Terich ALBUM OF THE WEEK01.15.2006There's a good reason why Akron/Family is the first name listed on this album. If you want to get into particulars, there are actually four good reasons. First off, they come first alphabetically. Second, they actually play on every song on the disc, performing their own compositions and backing Angel of Light Michael Gira on his. Third, their "half" of this so-called "split" is actually a much longer portion than Gira's. And fourth‹no offense or degradation meant toward Gira, of course‹they steal the damn show. Considering Gira, himself, has put out countless albums, whether as Angels of Light or with The Swans, allowing one of his own favorites to take over most of the record is the least he could do. And in that bulk of space that they take up here, they fill up every square inch with psychedelic sonic wonder.After hearing Akron/ Family's magnificently celebratory and wildly uneven self-titled psych-folk masterpiece earlier in 2005 (admittedly, it took me a little longer than that to hear it), the opening of this disc comes as something of a surprise. "Awake," a two-and-a-half-minute Radiohead-like space pop song comes in stark contrast to the folky......