An Album Review

This one is something very different. Soft, serene, and entirely in French, this album has a unique feeling to it. The songs are short, but the melodies are flowing sweetly and the songwriting is strong. However, I do not speak French, and I am limited to guessing about what each song means. To give an authentic first impression, I’m not going to try to translate it. It makes me wonder about the language barrier in music. How limited are we when we don’t know the true intention behind a song, but only the interpretation of the sounds behind the vocals. Are the images that play in our minds false, or is the message gained from the music equally as valid as the authors intentions?

J’inquiete, Miroirs, and all the other tracks on this album have a somewhat mysterious, timeless sound to them. This album would be perfectly in place playing in a Cafe in Paris, I would image the locals would have a hard time distinguishing that it’s not from their own country. Damian Ortellado, being half french was able to capture that essence very accurately. In a correspondence, he informed us that, “I always felt sort of intimidated writing lyrics in English, so singing in my mom’s  native tounge was kind of like slipping into an alter ego.”

The album ends almost as quickly as it began, but I find it to be very serene. There’s something about the French language that has a soothing tone. That, mixed with some skilled guitar playing and an excellent mastering, The Voyinch Manuscript is unlike anything else you’ve heard lately. Check it out.

Listen here:http://false-dawn.bandcamp.com/