He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corners of Our Rooms

Rating

Album: He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corners of Our Rooms
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Broken Chords Can Sing a Little
2)	Sit in the Middle of Three Galloping Dogs
3)	Stumble Then Rise on Some Awkward Morning
4)	Movie (Never Made)
5)	13 Angels Standing Guard Round the Side of Your Bed
6)	Long March Rocket or Doomed Airliner
7)	Blown-Out Joy From Heaven's Mercied Hole
8)	For Wanda

Album: He Has Left Us Alone But Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corners of Our Rooms
#	Song Title	Time
1)	Broken Chords Can Sing a Little
2)	Sit in the Middle of Three Galloping Dogs
3)	Stumble Then Rise on Some Awkward Morning
4)	Movie (Never Made)
5)	13 Angels Standing Guard Round the Side of Your Bed
6)	Long March Rocket or Doomed Airliner
7)	Blown-Out Joy From Heaven's Mercied Hole
8)	For Wanda

Performer Notes

A Silver Mt. Zion: Efrim (vocals, guitar, piano, organ); Thierry (contrabass, electric bass); Sophie (vocals, violin).
Additional personnel includes: Sam Shalabi (electric guitar); Gordon Krieger (clarinet); Aidan (drums).
Recorded in November 1999.
A Silver Mt. Zion has created a quiet album of beautiful and hypnotic melancholy, giving it the lengthy name He Has Left Us Alone, but Shafts of Light Sometimes Grace the Corner of Our Rooms. With this early 2000 release on Montreal's Constellation label, Efrim, Thierry, and Sophie of Godspeed You Black Emperor! (also on Constellation) create a sound similar to that of GYBE!, but less mournful and more gentle. Layers of string sections surround inner rings of light echoes, surrounding a core of sparsely played, reverberating guitar. This mostly instrumental album occasionally calls to mind the simple, quiet, and space-filled works of modern composer Peter Garland, as well as the solo albums of Dirty Three guitarist, Mick Turner. Efrim (piano), Thierry (contrebass), and Sophie (violin) are joined by other members of the Montreal bands Godspeed, Exhaust, and more, resulting in an often lush and raw sound that can include drums, clarinet, guitar, and tape loops. Dedicated to Efrim's late dog, Wanda, this release is in keeping with the other serious and vulnerable music found in the Constellation catalogue. ~ Joslyn Layne

Professional Reviews

Magnet (6-7/00, p.68) - "...[They] have gone far beyond, into a desolate sound world all its own....weaving a tapestry of piano, guitar, upright bass, violin, organ and various taped and organic sounds that creep slowly across the listener's heart and mind..."

The Wire (3/00, p.44) - "...Epic melodic bombast....the trio's slow-moving instrumentals are emotionally charged with a melancholy warmth for humanity..."

NME (Magazine) (4/1/00, p.33) - 8 out of 10 - "...Disquietly beautiful stuff..."