Faith & Disease A familiar name in gothic music circles, Faith & Disease explore themes of melancholia through dreamlike deliverance resulting in music that floats over the listener like clouds of forlorn nostalgia. Their music has steadily evolved beyond what can be comfortingly termed as simply gothic music while the ethereal currents have taken a more predominant place within the songs. Having developed an understanding of how to provide each individual song with a soul of its own, Faith & Disease have produced an engaging and rewarding work that transcends previous efforts. The vocals of Dara Rosenwasser breathe real life into this music. She sings in an abstracted tone haunted by ghosts of bittersweet consequence, weary and resigned and deceptively indifferent. Witness her fragile singing in the paralyzing beauty of "Lost In Translation" and how she flows seamlessly with the lifeinslowmotion ambience of Eric Cooley’s careful guitar chords. As Rosenwasser breaks hearts, the music, composed and performed by Cooley with the assistance of a few guests, shifts in hazy minimalism, delicate and sweet, blissfully adrift in sleepy sadness. Within each song there is the warmth of familiarity, a comfort that reminds one of somewhere, in a moment when life felt good even in its weight of pressure, and hopes held fast in the threats of being dashed. It’s in the pulsing-yet-understated rhythm of "Between The Folds", the subtle guitar manipulation hovering above slithering percussion in "Dyslexia", the chilling stillness of "Impermanence", the stark nakedness of "Made Of Wood", and in the gleaming melodies coursing through the entire album reflecting human longing in succession of pure feeling that fuels our lives. "Winter has come, but you’re unforgiving and a little less driven..." At the heart of these songs lie the shattered remnants of failed love and distant dreams. Trivial misunderstandings are allowed too much power, as once-flourishing faith is weakened and we move in between shadows in attempts to elude the next would-be destroyer of hope. The aura of this music paints the picture of a forlorn young woman sitting alone in displacement, gazing through her viewport, where all she sees are ashen monuments that reflect love gone astray. Her loneliness is that of the world’s, as she drifts ghostly through fragments of life, clinging to protection yet crying for her heart’s savior. The beauty of this music is in its hesitation to completely captivate upon first encounter. You recognize that this is good music, but are not yet swept away. It calls to you and will not be denied until you are carried away by its charm. Such is the nature of these unassuming songs. Once you are under its spell, it can indeed be difficult to break free. And after all, why would you wish to? This is such lovely music, refreshing in its honesty and enveloping in its flow of timelessness.
Tracklisting: 1. She’s Got A Halo Faith & Disease Discography: Beauty & Bitterness (Ivy, 1993) |