The Archive
Ravens
‘Trobairitz’
Self-released
Rochester’s
enigmatic art-folk quartet The Archive Ravens delivers a distinctive blend of world
folk, neo-Renaissance, and classical chamber music in its impressive debut
album of original music, “Trobairitz.” There’s
the deep, bellowing cello, accented by lead vocalist Ava Sauer’s interwoven vocal
harmonies in the Japanese-influenced “Kintsugi,”
or the cathedral-level expansiveness and heavy organ sounds in “Ave Eva.”
“Delicate” is a romantic vocal duet, with harmonies whirling around
piano-heavy lullabies with fawning fragility. Songs like “Catalogue of
Eyes” and “Marble Street” take on a mythic quality, with poetic
metaphors for life and death, while “Strings of Pearl” and
“Sandcastle Samba” offer more upbeat swing and
Brazilian dance styles, respectively. Interestingly, “Trobairitz”
caps off with two versions of the song, “Collapsed”: one, a dense and
jazzy orchestral arrangement; the other, a raw, acoustic rendition for piano
and voice only.
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This article appears in Jun 19-25, 2019.
