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The Bob, October 1989
by James Hopkins
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With a label name
like C est La Mort and labelmates who used to play
with This Mortal Coil it's a good guess that Area
is not a bcer guzzlin' rockabilly band but an
outfit dedicated to funeral tempos and prettily
wafting melodies that slowly and sexily intone over
spacey synthesizers. There's no denying kinship
here with the merry groups of 4AD. The music of
Henry Frayne and Steve Jones splits into tunes
where silence is an active partner to the sparse,
delicately repetitive guitars, floating and ringing
minimalistic keyboards, and basses that plunk like
tolling bells: while at other times the songs
parallel the slow. sad art/pop of the salad days of
OMD. Pushing above the music like a blast of winter
wind comes lyricist/melodist Lynn Canfield, whose
rapturously chilly voice breathes tunes like a
horny spirit obsessively recording a constantly
shifting series of surrealistic and sharply
detailed images and moods. She intensely describes
the hills and valleys of her emotional landscaPe
with clinical simplicity -- until a wildly romantic
odd-angled flash of memorv adds a dash of symbolism
to her gleefully neurotic lines.
By now all you
raunchers and raunchettes have long ago fled this
review, ears plugged with cotton and feet flung
toward the first exit. But for those others who
feel that the 4AD sound has its own strange little
joys, but who wonder why they should listen to this
trio, there's a simple answer. Area uses their
influences carefully as springboards to create
unique melodies and thoughts of their own, creating
a production sound that is crisper and more
intimate than the epic sweep of the British
moodists. The sexy fairy passion of Canfield and
the evocative landscapes drawn with brain power by
the band give reason to hope that Area will not
have to look back for long at the other side of the
ocean.
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This perfect dream
is an extremely wistful and precious one. The music
is reminiscent of what might occur if Dururtti
Column were to mate with the Cocteau Twins,
particularly in the case of "With Louise." The
whole album is a fine peice of work, with a lot of
variation within the band's hypnotic and delicate
style. "I'll Gather Flowers" has hints of
minimalism, and at times is a bit like the Penguin
Cafe Orchestra with female vocals added. "Why
Should I Worry" is a bit more fast-paced than most
of the songs, with a good sense, of percussion.
Lynn Canfield's vocals add a lot of dimension to
the band's identity and her style is unique and
does not seek to emulate others in this genre, such
as Virginia Astley. The album is twee, delicate,
winsome and yes, absolutely precious, much in the
same way a This Mortal Coil album can be. But if
you find that sort of music enjoyable, as I do,
then this album will surely not disappoint
you.
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OPtion, September 1988
by Maria V. Montgomery
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Press release, circa 1989
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In May l986, Steve
Jones of The Arms of Someone New had a little time
on his hands and some now material that was
developing in a direction different from TASN'S. So
he invited a couple of friends from Office Records'
ACK-ACK to collaborate and "just see what happens."
Guitarist Henry Frayne also had a few songs in the
works which were added to the experiment. Lynn
Canfield, then a keyboard player, decided to end a
two year hiatus and redevelop her skills as
vocalist/lyricist. The music came together
naturally and steadily, enabling Area to release an
LP length cassette in the fall of '86. This tape
was so well received that the group continued to
write and record as often as possible through the
fall and winter. This spree culminated in the
release of the "Radio Caroline" LP in March 1987
and was followed by a month or two of
rest.
For the rest the
year, they slowed down, allowing a greater
attention to detail and some guest work by a
handful of Champaign musicians. Nick Rudd
contributed a song, Glenn Graham played sax and
clarinet on a number of pieces, and K. Paul Boyev
sat in on bass. Lynn started taking more time to
hone lyrics and strengthen her voice, increasing
its flexibility. In the studio he was building,
Henry developed his songs to near completion before
recording them with Steve and Lynn. Steve. in his
studio and at the U of I's Synclavier lab, remained
prolific as before and began experimenting with
arrangement and focusing on post-production until
every song was in its finest form.
While Steve
relocated to Northern Wisconsin and the group
adjusted to the necessity of long-distance calls
and frequent travel , C'est La Mort Regards
expressed interest in their material and by May
1988 released Area's second album, "The Perfect
Dream."
In November of
1988, CLM released CD versions of the first two
albums, with additional tracks from White Canvas
New Hope and some previously unreleased material.
Busier than ever, Area was finishing their third
album (and CD) Betwecn Purple and Pink which will
be available in the spring of 1989, and planning
videos to accompany this release. With recording
studios close by, each member has continued to
write and develop on a regular basis.
The band does not
champion a philosophy aggressively but instead
allows the music to communicate what the musicians
believe: the lyrics are very personal and attempt
to convey an emotional experience. With a
combination of honesty and care, the project
succeeds on a personal level and as a result
attracts an audience with similar values. The
emphasis is human in order that, at its best, the
music is rich to those who hear the same things in
their lives.
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