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Tuesday, 3 July 2012

Record Review - Two Wings

TWO WINGS
Love’s Spring
Two Wings, in principle, are extremely promising.  Springing from the experimental folk world, at core they are a duo of Hanna Tuulikki – who really impressed me with her previous project Nalle - and Ben Reynolds, an excellent guitarist, originally in Trembling Bells. Yet Love’s Spring is a disappointment.

The main problem is a lack of focus.  While I applaud their vision of genre mixing – bringing in country, psychedelia and straight rock alongside folk – the execution is flawed. Problem is, there are just not enough tunes. While lack of structure can work as a path to excellence in avant-garde folk (Directing Hand, MV & EE, early Islaja), all the different styles here result in a half-pleasant, but mostly forgettable, meander. It’s not challenging enough to admire, but not warm enough to really connect with, either.

Notwithstanding some lovely moments – ‘Just Like’, where Tuulikki’s incredible voice gets centre stage amongst shimmering brass, and the folk-rock success of the title track – Love’s Spring is less than the sum of Reynolds and Tuulikki. A shame.

Jeanette Leech

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