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There’s rarely a song here that isn’t beautiful: Fortino’s sense for gorgeous melodies, both instrumentally and vocally, simply shines throughout.
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For as spare as her pallet is (many of the songs consist only of Fortino’s single or multi-tracked vocals accompanied by her own acoustic guitar), there is a staggering diversity in tone and feeling throughout the album.
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Fortino has created an album that is easily one of the year’s most moving reflections. It’s that life is all but lost and Fortino’s take on things are spectacularly delivered.
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While it won’t be for everyone, and won’t be an album for all occasions, Life on Earth is a stark, devastating achievement.
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Taken as a whole, Life doesn't really depart from "Hands Across the Void" (itself not exactly a cheery record), but rather refines and builds upon it, besting the previous album's runtime by a factor of 1.5 and boasting, as a bonus, a number of melodies that stick like tar in spite of their spareness.
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It’s not easy listening; it may in fact be a case in which one needs to add hundred-degree heat before there’s even a chance of excavating something.
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She moves slowly, but she’s a good musician and singer; this is the surprise, because in her line of work you expect more dishevelment.
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These vipers may be tiny, but there’s a bite to Fortino’s harrowing vocal that’s sure to leave its mark.
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This kind of deliberate quiet may not be for everyone. But if you’re willing to live with Life on Earth for a while, you might be surprised how comforting its vast isolation can feel.
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While the similarly mystical/mewling Joanna Newsom seems adrift in fantasy, Tiny Vipers finds wonder in being rooted firmly to the terra.
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Fortino's considerable talent for trance-inducing musical honesty could probably use a little bit of editing. It's better in the end for listeners to feel like they're being driven, not just along for the ride.
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Like fellow abstract lyricist Kristin Hersh, her quill is aimed at the introverted, resulting in work that is both deeply personal and frustratingly impenetrable.
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The result is a very quiet record (possibly reflecting her admittedly timid nature--stage fright was once a big problem for her), but one that rewards a close listen.
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Fortino may not have hated the world away, but she possesses a similarly intuitive ability to block everything out so she can operate in her own peculiar vacuum. It’s an admirable quality, but the desperately sad nature of her music makes it a place that’s difficult to visit with any degree of regularity.
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The 11 songs on Life On Earth, her second Sub Pop album, average nearly six minutes apiece, and there generally isn’t much going on beyond her blurry, cold-water voice (think of a much more ethereal Grace Slick) and her sturdy strums and/or intricate finger-picking. But though the songs can be hit-or-miss.
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Under The RadarIn its excruciating final half, her sophomore album recalls Nico's mid-period solo records not only for it's foreboding, gothic tone but its glacial pace. [Summer 2009, p.63]
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MojoThe result, unfortunately, is one of the dreariest hours you will even spend listening to music. [Aug 2009, p.100]
User score distribution:
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Positive: 4 out of 4
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Mixed: 0 out of 4
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Negative: 0 out of 4
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JeremyFJul 15, 2009
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EricCJul 13, 2009