小手

　A Fine Frenzy - One Cell In The Sea
　　WebSite：http://www.afinefrenzy.com/
　　MySpace.com：http://www.myspace.com/afinefrenzy
　　發行日期：July 17, 2007
　　發行公司：Virgin

來自美國的年輕女孩 A Fine Frenzy 在7月份發行了自己的第一盤專集，整盤專集順暢的表達了　　A Fine Frenzy 特有的那股特有猶豫和傷感，看了 A Fine Frenzy 詳細的資料，並沒有發現她的成長中有過太大的苦難，但卻把憂傷演繹的這樣優美和完整；當你孤單受傷或夜晚思念的時候不妨來聽聽 A Fine Frenzy 的輕吟，你會找到許多共鳴，讓那顆受過傷的心靈找到一絲安慰；其實她的音樂本身沒有太多值得稱讚的亮點，但帶上耳機聽著 A Fine Frenzy 的音樂，自己卻變的非常安靜！
A Fine Frenzy is actually just a fine young singer-songwriter from Seattle, born Alison Sudol. A self-taught piano player, on her debut album she pairs sweeping orchestral arrangements with dreamlike lyrics inspired by the classic works of fantasy writers like CS Lewis, EB White, and Lewis Carroll. Add to that a propensity for frilly shirts and cryptic song titles such as "The Minnow & the Trout" and you half-expect to find a back alley Joanna Newsom. Instead Sudol specializes in accessible pop epics, the kind of songs that fit perfectly over the end credits of a great Hollywood tearjerker. Despite the gentle melancholia that runs through "Ashes and Wine" and "You Picked Me," each tune arrives wrapped in an exuberant melody and topped by the singer's commanding voice. On the disc's standout moment, "Almost Lover," she shows she can do simplicity as well, musing over a sublime piano medley, "Shoulda known you'd bring me heartache/ Oh, most lovers always do."

專輯簡介
A red haired, piercingly green eyed siren helms the band known as A Fine Frenzy. Allison Sudol is said siren. Strikingly beautiful, she'd make just about anyone swoon with a brief fleeting gaze. Fortunately, Sudol is not a one trick pony. Her vertigo inducing appearance is matched by powerful pipes and a poignant musical sensibility that just may elevate Allison and the rest of her fine frenzy into public consciousness.

One Cell In The Sea is an auspicious debut filled with tracks that move, engage, and haunt. "Almost Lover" is one such track that just about breaks your heart from the get go with the somber wailings of a piano only to be followed by 22-year old Allison mourning an "almost lover" who provided only a brief, fleeting taste of love only to have it dashed. Sudol reflects painfully on the seemingly inescapable pain of love unrequited. "Almost Lover" hurts in a way that is familiar to just about anyone.

The melancholy continues in the aptly titled "Hope for the Hopeless". This one could likely become an anthem for anyone who's had life crap on them. In other words, there's hope for all of us. Allison's powerful vocals complement lyrics that are moving and memorable: "...running against the wind, playing the cards you get, something is bound to give." For those who have had a rough go of things, "Hope for the Hopeles".

Not all is sturm und drang with A Fine Frenzy. In "You Picked Me" Allison gives voice to sheer bliss and ecstasy at surprisingly enough "getting picked" and having someone special in her life. "...The two of us a perfect fit, you're mine all mine, and all I can say is you blow me away." Okay, it's not necessarily the most lyrically complex ode to love, but, it's refreshing to see at age 22 Allison is not completely jaded.

The remainder of One Cell In The Sea is a mélange of mostly melancholy musings on love, relationships, and everything that lies in between (oftentimes hurt and confusion is a part of it). There's an uncanny maturity to the majority of the tracks in A Fine Frenzy's debut and a decided lack of syrupy saccharine given the thrust of the album. It's refreshing to see a young female artist not position herself as a nascent pop princess (a la Britney, Cristina, Avril).

One could characterize A Fine Frenzy (aka Allison Sudol) as a wonderful amalgamation of Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, and a litany of emo-bands (Keane, Aqualung, Pete Yorn, Ben Folds). Yet despite her similarities to the aforementioned artists, Allison's got a sound that is authentic and distinct. One Cell In The Sea is a well executed debut from a young artist who has the potential to craft some even better music in the years that lie ahead.

專輯曲目（試聽）
01. Come On, Come Out
02. The Minnow & The Trout
03. Whisper
04. You Picked Me
05. Rangers
06. Almost Lover
07. Think Of You
08. Ashes And Wine
09. Liar, Liar
10. Last Of Days
11. Lifesize
12. Near To You
13. Hope For The Hopeless
14. Borrowed Time

You Picked Me

one two three,
counting out the signs we see
the tall buildings
fading in the distance
only dots on a map
four five six
the two of us a perfect fit
you're all mine all mine

and all I can say
is you blow me away

like an apple on a tree
hiding out behind the leaves
I was difficult to reach
but you picked me
like a shell upon a beach
just another pretty piece
I was difficult to see
but you picked me,
yeah you picked me

so softly,
rain against the windows
and the strong coffee
warming up my fingers
in this fisherman's house
you got me,
searched the sand
and climbed the tree
and brought me back down

and all I can say
is you blow me away

like an apple on a tree
hiding out behind the leaves
I was difficult to reach
but you picked me
like a shell upon a beach
just another pretty piece
I was difficult to see
but you picked me, yeah you picked me


Posted April 10, 2007
A Fine Frenzy Indeed
I have had a soft spot for the painfully honest music crafted by the gifted 21 year-old singer-songwriter Alison Sudol since I first saw an enchanting set from A Fine Frenzy at the Hotel Cafe in Hollywood. There is an immediate intimacy once you press play, especially on the poignant and personal song 「The Well」 Although not usually the type of music that would summon me like a Siren, music with this level of sincerity can crack open even the most ingrained layers of self. I often find myself wandering around the city, traversing from place to place, with the sullen sounds of A Fine Frenzy servicing as a constant comfort echoing through my iPod. When it's time to slow things down a bit, when it's time to unearth some honesty and tap into a bit of serenity, A Fine Frenzy always does the trick. The major label debut album is due out this summer, I am longing for a copy. You can check out some of the more recent material on Myspace.

---

Azure Ray
這支2001才出道的兩人組合有著Red House Painters一般的淒清孤寂，如同Low一樣的低調和緩慢，像Mazzy Star那樣漠然但卻更媚惑的唱腔。然而在對於憂傷情調的沉溺之中，你偶爾也會發現Azure Ray身體裡潛伏的雙面幽靈：一點點喇叭，貝司和絃樂以及英式流行曲的旋律，讓吉他噪音缺席的「How You Remember」也流淌出Slowdive的迷幻意境。那首溫暖輕快的民謠Rest Your Eyes則將你的無端憂鬱悄悄收藏，重新封存回這張可以留給明天去傾聽的唱片之中。

憂傷並不動人，但是美麗的憂傷卻讓人為之動容。在Azure Ray的歌聲裡我常常什麼都記不起來，只是一味得跟著她們沉溺在自己的憂傷中。

有一種音樂，作為背景音樂時毫無知覺，只覺得很輕緩、很好聽，但讓妳很想放下手邊工作，等妳看看歌詞，仔細聽她們到底在唱什麼時，卻不自覺讓旋律一遍一遍 至熟記為止，這些緩慢悲傷的曲子，有著心情淨化的儀式效果。MariaTaylor和OrendaFink兩個女生組成的AzureRay，即是屬於這一 類。

MariaTaylor和OrendaFink出生於美國喬治亞州Athens，與R.E.M.是同鄉(年紀差不多是他們的姪女輩吧)。兩人十六 歲時結識於阿拉巴馬州立藝術學校，Maria主修芭蕾，Orenda主修戲劇，都對音樂保持強烈興趣。畢業後搬到內布達加斯州Omaha參加了 powerpop樂隊LittleRedRocket，之後組成低調民謠風格的AzureRay。所加入的獨立廠牌SaddleCreek，就像個大家 庭，樂手都在兩個以上的樂隊演出，彼此熟識，相互支援，例如AzureRay常與BrightEyes巡迴演出，讓Omaha成為近年來美國中西部獨立搖 滾的重要基地。

AzureRay在音樂的表現上最引人注目的是MariaTaylor和OrendaFink默契絕佳、清新淡雅的和聲，空心吉他、鋼琴的器樂 演奏以及優美的旋律都是聆聽的重點，她們的曲風像是不吵鬧時候的ThrowingMuses，表現出纖細脆弱情感時的KristinHersh和 TanyaDonelly姊妹倆，有些曲子又有著MazzyStar的夢幻感。



我很喜歡英式搖滾
這組歌手的曲風有點像 [Snow Patrol 雪警] or [Coldplay 酷玩]
飄渺的歌聲＋我還蠻喜歡的一部影集《Supernatural．超自然檔案》
如泣如訴的自溺其中


SLEEP
Fill these spaces up with days
in my room you can go you can stay

I can't sleep
I can't speak to you
I can't sleep

Now these years locked on my drawer
I'll open to see just to be sure

I can't sleep
I can't speak to you
I can't sleep

And so i'm reaching out for the one
And so i've learned the meaning of the sun
And all this like a message comes to shift my point of view
And watching through my own light
As it tints the shade of you

Hold my wine hold it in
Nobody's lost but nobody wins

music downloads　／　Azure Ray官方網站(奇怪)　／　MySpace