Red Sparowes – Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun
Neurot Recordings – NR-045 – September 19th, 2006
By Jason Jordan
“The art of government is the organization of idolatry.”
- George Bernard Shaw
“We will not be driven by fear into an age of unreason, if we dig deep in our history and our doctrine, and remember that we are not descended from fearful men, not from men who feared to write, to speak, to associate and to defend causes that were, for the moment, unpopular.”
- Edward R. Murrow
“We shall require a substantially new manner of thinking if mankind is to survive.”
- Albert Einstein
^ Quotations found in the liner notes.
“The Great Leap Forward Poured Down upon Us One Day Like a Mighty Storm, Suddenly and Furiously Blinding Our Senses. We Stood Transfixed in Blank Devotion As Our Leader Spoke to Us, Looking Down on Our Mute Faces with a Great, Raging, and Unseeing Eye. Like the Howling Glory of the Darkest Winds, This Voice Was Thunderous and the Words Holy, Tangling Their Way Around Our Hearts and Clutching Our Innocent Awe. A Message of Avarice Rained Down and Carried Us Away into False Dreams of Endless Riches. ‘Annihilate the Sparrow, That Stealer of Seed, and Our Harvests Will Abound; We Will Watch Our Wealth Flood In.’ And by Our Own Hand Did Every Last Bird Lie Silent in Their Puddles, the Air Barren of Song As the Clouds Drifted Away. For Killing Their Greatest Enemy, the Locusts Noisily Thanked Us and Turned Their Jaws Toward Our Crops, Swallowing Our Greed Whole. Millions Starved and We Became Skinnier and Skinnier, While Our Leaders Became Fatter and Fatter. Finally, As That Blazing Sun Shone Down upon Us, Did We Know That True Enemy Was the Voice of Blind Idolatry; and Only Then Did We Begin to Think for Ourselves.”
^ Paragraph found on the back sleeve – each sentence is a song title, which makes for nine in all, though the disc only contains eight tracks. Someone hire a private investigator.
“The story told here is true. In an attempt to vastly increase economic gain, The Great Leap Forward was a movement started by the Chinese government in 1958. Over the course of this campaign, plan after plan, including the killing of millions of sparrows, failed miserably. As a result, 30 – 50 million people died of starvation in just under two years.”
-
Red Sparowes
^ Found in liner notes.
Context
oftentimes
puts
everything
in
perspective.
“Can you honestly divorce
from
, and talk about one like the other doesn’t exist?”
“Yes, I believe I can.”
“Lying?”
“Yes.”
“So what is different, or maybe we should start by pointing out similarities?”
“Of course. Well, with members of
Neurosis,
Isis,
The Halifax Pier,
Angel Hair, and
Pleasure Forever on board, that should give you a good indication of just how seasoned
Red Sparowes are – aside from their own accomplishments.”
“Go on.”
“Instrumental post-rock. Um, some parts of
Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun remind me of
Isis,
Pelican, laidback
Cult of Luna (on later tracks), and ultra-slow
Ostinato (on tracks that appear later).”
“Differences between
and
?”
“
Every Red Heart… sounds calmer and tenser than its predecessor. Obviously not at the same time, but when the music centers on one or the other. It’s more experimental, too.
At the Soundless Dawn is more emotional, however, though seems focused on delivering stellar music rather than making an actual point through said medium. In other words,
ERH seems determined to make a greater impact than simply offering grade A rawk, but ultimately achieves both in the end.”
“Kickass.”
“Yeah, sure does.”
“Which do you prefer then?”
“I gotta go with
, even though
Every Red Heart Shines Toward the Red Sun is a fantastic album in its own right. You just can’t beat the first chunk of
Soundless.”
“Your rating?”
“So 8.5 out of 10?”
“Yeah.”
Thanks to Wikipedia for the pictures, and credit to the original posters.
UM’s Review Rating Scale
Official Red Sparowes Website
Official Neurot Recordings Website
