Search - Faith & Disease :: Insularia

Liquid symphony . . .

Caitlin R. Kiernan | Birmingham, AL United States | 06/06/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This, the fourth and finest CD from Seattle's Faith & Disease, is truly a disarmingly beautiful accomplishment. Insularia is a stunning exercise in subtlety, creating, by turns, an atmosphere of brooding resignation and a wistful sense of detachment. Though there's not a bad track on the disc, three or four really shine, showcasing Dara Rosenwasser's lilting vocals and the band's distinctly nondigital, almost folky approach to goth: songs like the baroque "Perhaps...Persephone," the somnolent "Marie Don't Sleep In Your Makeup," and a gorgeous a cappella cover of This Mortal Coil's "I Come and Stand At Every Door." Faith & Disease employ solid guitar work and an exotic array of percusive instruments (Tibetan bell-drilbu, djembe, gong, dombec, and clave) to deliver a simple, sincere, and soft-spoken melancholy, which, considering the sometimes overproduced and exaggeratedly melodramatic efforts of darkwave and ethereal artists, is very refreshing indeed."

Ethereal country songs

Craig L. Gidney | Washington, DC USA | 09/01/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With this new release, Seattle's F&D move firmly into Cowboy Junkies/Mazzy Star phantasmorgic rural neighborhood. Dilapidated barns, the lonesome baying of a coyote, dust devils, blue-silver moonlight describing a weathervane...we're all familiar with the architecture. Dara Rosewasser's voice starts out the first track, with a cathedral-pure soprano, leading you to believe this will be a churchy, madrigal-type number. But after her solemn opening, a guitar whines, and up starts the backing band, muted and blurring (with gossamer-thin tendrils) the difference between country, blues and goth. "Insularia" is a great *album*, a vast improvement over the 'collection of songs' feel of their previous work. Each piece has its place and unfolds perfectly. The two covers -- "I come and stand at every door" and "Witches" perfectly complement and aid the theme of unresolved longing and lost. Rosewasser's voice has become a formidable instrument. Imagine Natalie Merchant vectored in the direction Ann Halsam (Renaissance). The perfect soundtrack to a Cormac McCarthy novel."

I'm Yazel -a fan-

Craig L. Gidney | 06/30/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Did you ever experiment these sacred and rare seconds in life when everything appear to work fine whatever you do, when thoughts naturally connect to events in a beautiful....dream? Then you probably want to listen to Dara's powerful spring like voice, so well supported by Eric's bass. Faith & Disease take you away into pure depths where you do not only contemplate their feelings but also yours; in this sense they highly interact with people listening to them in a ceremonious experience. Not pretending to teach, they just install a magic halo in the heart of which you just see the best of yourself.I believe they do not know how beautiful they are. "Insularia" is a good way to discover them if you don't have the chance to see them live. Check out their other CD's.Have fun;Yazel Boudour"