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The Hawthornes hail from Loch Lemond, which lets you know this is going to be more on the darker side of neo-folk. This album is almost more of an ep as it includes two remixes. The opening track is so ambient that it could almost be found at a new-age bookstore. The delicate vocals haunt the minimalist textures creating the opening ballad, which sounds like it would be a chart-topping hit for the fey. Enya is not an unfounded comparison, though the introspective mood is very true to what half the goth girls I know listen to so it certainly warrants a place here. If this band was playing Dragon Con it would not be a surprise at all. The title track has a more solid foundation of songwriting supporting it.
"Medicine' has a subtle groove to it, but I am not sure I would call this dark wave. '"Porcelain and Ivory" might find the delicate vocal approach not playing to the song's favor if she showed she could power behind her voice and belt it out in a more dramatic manner it might make things more dynamic. I mean at this point I am four songs in an not sure how good of a singer she actually is as she keeps giving us the same thing.
The remixes are so good they should have just used them as the normal versions of the song and moved more in this direction The first was the title track remixed by Kontravoid. It moves more fluidly The remix of "Medicine' is the Halloween edition and feels more like something Danny Elfman might have done for a Time Burton movie. I will give this a 9, as they captured the niche they are reaching for her in an authentic manner that seems to resonate with who they are as artists. There is a great deal of personal story telling going on that is also true to the folk side of what they do.
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