Earth City 1 : The Longing

Description

Those who were waiting for Ethan Gold’s second album will see their patience richly rewarded with the announcement of the release of a complete trilogy of albums, called Earth City. Here is the first volume, Earth City 1: The Longing. Across the album’s 11 tracks, Ethan Gold takes the listener on an exciting musical journey that explores certain aspects of personal and romantic relationships, self-esteem and the notion of community, and his lyrics often work on several levels. The music also juxtaposes carefully crafted arrangements. Ethan Gold weaves a vibrant soundscape, blending elements of alternative rock and folk with sounds evoking Brian Eno, sometimes to support the lyrics and sometimes, on the contrary, to serve as a counterpoint to them: the pop leanings of the magnificent Bright & Lonely City and Our Love Is Beautiful briefly divert attention from the darker subjects of the lyrics, a Spanish guitar softens the aggressive electro beats of Firefly, and the unsettling second voice in In New York seems to struggle against the more romantic lead vocal, adding a sense of disillusionment to this lovely piano ballad. Ethan Gold had played, recorded and mixed everything at home; this time, he focused on the many keyboard, guitar and bass parts, but wanted other musicians and mixers to bring, through their diversity, a more open, more global energy to the songs of Earth City.