Before Gardens After Gardens (Sargent House) is the new album by Big Sir, and off the top I’m going to tell what I don’t like. I think the pacing of the songs as an album is a bit uneven, and I wished they would’ve put two stronger songs at the top. To my ears, things sound a bit lopsided and I think it would’ve been stronger had it been configured differently. Then again, we live in a time of playlists where anyone can create their own playlists, so while you the reader are able to hear the album from song 11 to song 1, or randomize it, I want to be able to enjoy the album as it was presented to me by the band. Is this what they approved of? Then show me what you can do, the album is representative of you as a group, this is your show, give it to me.
With that said, Before Gardens After Gardens is an album by a Los Angeles duo who are very sure about what they want and how to do it, and the first thing that pulls you in is Lisa Papineau‘s voice. She has that kind of delightful, sexy, and seductive whisper of a voice where it sounds like she’s not giving it her all but you know it’s deliberate. It sounds alluring, but that only makes you want to hear the lyrics, as is the case with tracks like “The Kindest Hour”, “1 Thousand Petals”, or “Our Pleasant Home”. While these are pop-friendly, in that they have the means to become pop hits, these are not written with a pop mindset. There’s a slight darkness in her words, almost sounding like someone who wants to go into a fetus position and hide away from the world, but within that are songs of dreams, inspirations, and strength. Papineau doesn’t only sing one way, I love it when she digs deep and vocalizes in a lower register, and I wish I could hear more of that, or wishing she’d use it in parts of songs where she sings at a higher octave. When you hear both of her styles at once, it rocks.
At times, things are uneven because I’d like to hear the songs programmed differently, or I wished her vocals were arranged to my personal preference, but I’m not the producer. Without playing the role of a producer, I hear a group that could easily tear the heartstrings of everyone who listens because of the emotional impact they deliver. It’s not a perfect banger, but it’s getting there.
http://bandcamp.com/EmbeddedPlayer/v=2/album=4213216398/size=venti/bgcol=9120EB/linkcol=AEFFFF/
This Is Book's Music 