Search - Brendan Perry :: Ark

The Master Genius behind Dead Can Dance is back!!!

Douglas Hatten | Independence, MO | 06/15/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If you know the name Brendan Perry from somewhere, it is likely as one half of the male / female duo called Dead Can Dance from the 1990's. Sometimes labeled World Music in stores, no one else sounded like them. Many fans found it difficult to describe to other people what the band's music was like. People just had to hear it for themselves. I hardly know anyone who gave them a listen who wasn't instantly hooked. I have described them as the sound of ancient and mysterious cultures, music, and instruments brought back to life from the ancient past, and then mixed in a new modern way that makes it both timeless and relevant for today. Compelling and capable of lifting the spirit, the vocals from Brendan Perry and Lisa Gerrard were every bit as powerful and compelling as the incredible music they composed.



Since going separate ways, Lisa has done quite a bit of work as the now familiar and haunting voice we sometimes hear in various movie soundtracks, including Gladiator. Brendan put out a solo album called "Eye of the Hunter" some years ago. It was a beautiful album, though certainly a departure from what people were used to from the master song writer of Dead Can Dance.



Brendan is back again, this time with a new contract with Cooking Vinyl records to do even more albums in the very near future.



The newest album, Ark, gives us an absolutely amazing soundscape more reminiscent of his work in Dead Can Dance, but with some pleasant new surprises along the way. Playing this album will sweep the listener up into other worlds, while still maintaining firm roots in planet earth. The album is at times dark, sometimes exotic, sometimes pessimistic, yet remaining hopeful. While many of the songs provide significant commentary regarding world events, this album is anything but cold politics. It is also very much a personal and emotional album that draws us into the struggle of humanity.



It would be very easy for me to think of this as a new Dead Can Dance album, minus Lisa. However, if it were another Dead Can Dance album, I think it would probably be one of the strongest to date. As a fan of Dead Can Dance from the 1990's, this album is very fulfilling. It takes much of the familiar sound of Dead Can Dance, but adds to it, making the music even more dynamic with a more modern sound. Ark uses powerful drums, synthesizer and guitar work, combined with other more antique instruments (like the dulcimer) to create a unique and moving atmosphere you simply don't hear on pop radio.



Ark is what popular music should be like if pop music were more original, and if its lyrics were reflective of contemplative intelligence and the soul searching quest for truth and knowledge. This album certainly has a global soundtrack to support the album's global themes, whether they are politics, war, religion, environmental concerns, or the human condition.



I highly recommend Ark for anyone who has grown weary of the standard pop fare, and is searching for something new that will move and inspire the soul to greater heights.

"

Excellent Album from a truly great artist

D. Anderson | Colorado Springs, CO, USA | 06/25/2010

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I've been a big fan of Dead Can Dance for twenty (!) years. So naturally, I was quite excited to get hold of Brendan Perry's Solo album ARK. Let me say that I was a little concerned beforehand, when it was suggested by others, and the artist himself, that it would be a more "electronic" recording. From the very first listen though, the opening track "Babylon" blew me away. This album has been expertly recorded. Beautiful crisp highs, fully pronounced lows, the synth lines and awesome arrangements that we have come to expect from Brendan are all there. I LOVE this sound. The ebbing bass throughout my personally favorite track, "The Devil and The Deep Blue Sea" is captivating. Brendan's vocals and lyrics are perfectly crafted. The music on this album takes me away and makes me think of other things that I normally don't think so much about, just like the music from Dead Can Dance does. I don't know how to explain that, but last night I played this album whilst on the back deck of my home, drinking a lovely pale ale and watching the moon slowly cross the night sky. This music makes me want to do that. Just like DCD does. Enough said."

A NICE COMEBACK

A. ANNIS | Athens, GREECE | 06/12/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Long awaited, has it been more than a decade already since "Eye Of The Hunter"? In "Ark", Brendan Perry proves all his high level abilities as a composer, musician AND a singer (what a voice!). One man show, yes (he plays and performs almost everything himself) still there is no lack of musicality, inspiration and trance. Less acoustic and more rythym with beautiful and charismatic arrangements - Brendan Perry is a great song writer. (Who can forget the beautifully haunting "Don't Fade Away" - a live only recorded song from the late Dead Can Dance era). He talks about Love and everything that a human being should question, wonder and worry about nowadays, regarding Loneliness, (In)humanity, Isolation, Ignorance, but also politics and universal chaos we have come to (or forced to) live in and find our own way. Straight and simple lyrics with strong melodic lines in melancholy tunes; Brendan is a seeker, a sirious thinker and a poet in his own unique way. Of course this release makes you wanna go back and listen once again to all his previous works (apart Dead Dead Cance, unfortunately not to many). Would like to see how 'Ark' would work in a live concert (hopefully on a forthcoming DVD). Can't really make a pick but, 'Wintersun', 'Utopia' and 'The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea" are really outstanding tracks which carry you away. This album worths a lot of listening and surely grows on the listener. Highly Recommended."