BATH

Maudlin Of The Well has managed to forge some very unique music, blending elements of various music styles into their distinctive sound. Bath was released in 2001, together with companion album Leaving Your Body Map. Where Leaving Your Body Map shows a lot of the bands heavy side, Bath is much more delicate and features more dreamy soundscapes, though still having its fierce moments every now and then.

Bath is such a beautiful album, full of musical translations of dream-like places. The band's sound is very diverse, blending Metal, Prog, Classical, Jazz, Psychedelica and many others into one. The 61 minutes that Bath lasts are very varied, though this doesn't seem to harm the album's very consistent flow. I've already mentioned that most of the music on the album is very dreamy and somewhat soft. There still are some very rough moments on the album though, like the fierce "They Aren't All Beautiful" and the organ driven and haunting "The Ferryman". There also are frequent heavy parts in the longer songs that have an overall softer feel, often serving as a climax. These softer songs often create a beautiful mood driven by melodic guitar playing, atmospheric keys and now and then some soothing wind instruments. The album never tends to drag and is a great journey from beginning to end.

A masterpiece full of innovativity, that's what Bath is. Full of hauntingly beautiful delicacy and mind-blowing climatic parts, Bath is one of the very best albums I've heard in my life. Listened together with its rougher and more aggresive companion album, Leaving Your Body Map, it truly is the musical translation of some paradise. A wonderful journey full of innovativity, distinctiveness and a fantastic feel.