WHEN MARY

Trude EIDTANG is the singer of WHITE WILLOW, and has already released an album flirting with pop in 2013! The obvious question is the following, namely a simple continuation of the 1st or a mix of what she was able to do with WHITE WILLOW. In fact, this second album has everything of a trap, because the mini pieces interspersed and the two largest (7 and 8 minutes) at the end of the CD suggest a concept... Such is the case!​

By searching a little, we find that the titles talk about the myth of Faust, and we can imagine that the songs will go to a crescendo... That's what I started to believe from the 4th listen, but not before! And yes, without this work of listening to the album on repeat, I would have ended up with a pop-dark-melancholy-synthetic-medieval or even depressive album! Songs without much brilliance, without a major piece, without that little something that takes you to prog lands.​

You will have understood, this album is a trap, alternating hushed, medieval, electro atmospheres with others that are more elaborate, even more progressive. An intro with bells and a saint's voice as an appetizer, a synthetic sound and a crystalline and monolithic voice from the 2nd title, an organ coming from nowhere on the 3rd to lead to the flagship title "Wings of Wax" with its fat guitar riff, hypnotic and a little saturated! "Out of Spaces" starts on the same basis with even more synths and a melancholic voice à la Lana del REY, but it's Trude who sings in a captivating way!​

"Eternity" and 'Wonderful Warning' cut the album apart a little with two ballads a little below the rest, with a lack of creation above all; fortunately the guitar returns at the end to support the slightly cutesy rhythm, a solo which reminds me at certain moments of THE SMASHING PUMPKINS.​

But the last two allow us to get back on track with the album with sounds like THE GATHERING, MOSTLY AUTUMN, KARNATAKA or even NIGHTWISH from the early days and a little CHILDREN IN PARADISE for its guitar flights! The last one with its tune to "Bring in the Accused" is worth the detour alone; alternating soft atmosphere on the piano, then intoxicating choirs and Floydian solo without forgetting the bell of? the first title!​

In short, an album without much pretension, yes I know how to be harsh, but if you take the trouble to listen to it all at once, you risk wanting to hear it again to sink a little deeper into this universe that Trude and Christian knew compose, a universe where the concept album is not that far away!

An album that knew how to create its own universe without having its own sound is already not so bad, but one that I almost missed!

It took four years for Trude and Christian to come back with their second album, and again the vast majority of the album is just the two of them, although they have used some additional musicians and singers on a couple of the songs. The album is inspired by the classic tale of Faust, the man who drives himself to damnation in his search for true enlightenment. It is shaped like a German Song Cycle and draws inspiration from the Franz Schubert song "Gretchen am Spinnrade", in which he portrays the mental and emotional turmoil of one of the characters. It is both more electronic and heavier than the debut album, with a darkness in place of the lightness.

Trude is also often singing in a more standard rock style, with "Soothing Stitches" being a case in point. This is almost commercial, and would find a happy place on the radio (apart from the drum machine, which has still yet to be taken out and shot). There is a gothic element, as the guys bring together classical, art pop and trip hop among others. In many ways this is an easier album to listen to than the debut, one that is much easier to get inside, and possibly that is why I didn't enjoy this quite as much as the debut. I would much rather that they had followed their own path instead of conforming to be more like others.

When Mary came into being after Trude Eidtang (vocals, synthesizer, percussion) left White Willow and joined forces with Christian Paulsen (guitars, programming, synthesizer), wanting to create music inspired by Kate Bush, Björk and Peter Gabriel. I didn't read the press release until after I had been listening to the album, and already had those three artists in mind to put into the review so wasn't surprised when I read it in black and white. Although this was released in 2013 I have only just come across it, which is a shame as there is a great deal here to enjoy. Musically it is mostly electronic, with small amounts of guitar, and all the focus being on the vocals. There is a great deal of reverb within the album, the result being something that is incredibly atmospheric, and Trude's vocals just bring the listener into a wonderful world. The more I played this the more I liked it (apart from the bloody drum machine - I hate those so much!), but the song that took me totally by surprise was John Denver's "Annie's Song". The original must be known by just about anyone my age, as it was all over the place in the Seventies, but here it has been slowed down and stripped back, and taken to a totally different place. This album is only 33 minutes long, but is well worth investigating.