'When in Rome, do as the Romans do.' Perhaps a cliched quote, but one that holds its place well in the world. In the lands of ambient/neofolk, I wish more bands would do as Rome does.
Rome is a dark folk band from Luxembourg consisting of Jerome Reuter and Patrick Damiani, who use heavy war imagery among their sprawling, almost romantic-in-a-brooding/doomed-way sound. The folk instrumentation on 'Flowers From Exile' is simply fantastic: guitar, piano, strings, and occasionally martial drums weave with droning samples, all creating a bed of music for the vocals to rest on. And the vocals are nothing short of exquisite. The first thing I thought of while listening to this album was Nick Cave's voice, in his slower songs, more emotional songs. And indeed, several tracks have a similar feel: tracks like 'Odessa' are fueled with love-lorn lyrics which Reuter's deep, clean vocals express perfectly. The guitar work alternates throughout the album from minimal finger-picking to dramatic flamenco passages (such as on 'The Secret Sons of Europe', my favorite track on the album) to more common folk strumming. Rome also use dramatic tempo changes perfectly, dropping off quickly from fast, galloping tracks to slower, more deliberate ambient passages. Listening to this album, I can't help but dream of Europe early in the 20th century, as war began tearing it apart. But what is interesting to me is that I do not really envision battles, bullets flying past, corpses and the like., but open landscapes with soldiers marching wearily through, or sitting at camp wishing they were back with their families. And that is the kind of emotion this album evokes: a kind of lost, homesick nostalgia, a dream of better times past.
To say this album is amazing is an understatement. 'Flowers From Exile' reaches not only a musical pedestal few ever touch, but a deep emotional core with their sound, showing off some of the darker, yet beautiful, intricacies of the neofolk genre.
Amazing album.
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