Let's get the straight from the start Tasseomancy's
"Ulalume" is not music to be played on the way to the next Red Wings game
or swinging dance night, but, if you're on the way to next year's Renaissance
Festival or art show, you'll find this enchanting album quite a nice listen.
Tasseomancy, a method of fortune telling using tea leaves, is a good name for
this female duo, as their music has some mystical elements among the strings
and stirring gothic-folk song structures. "Aubis", a pagan god of the
dead (yes, I'm expanding your knowledge with this review) opens the
album with a somber, slow pace coupled with the lovely voices of twin sisters, Sary and
Romy Lightman. The songs following carry similar themes of haunting melodies and dream-like elements but rather
than sounding repetitious or tedious, they take on a life of their own with
nice tempo shifts and the addition of keyboards or other acoustic instruments.
I'll throw one last piece of knowledge your way, "Ulalume" is a poem
by Edgar Allen poem about the loss beautiful woman due to her death. The poem
takes place in October over dark skies and I can't imagine a more appropriate
setting for this hidden gem of a record. Besides picking up Tasseomancy's
"Ulalume" you can catch them playing with Austra and Young Galaxy at
the Pike Room on Tuesday, Nov. 29th.
