Every diehard music fan has at least one. That one band, that one sound, that one musical penchant, that one you know is impossible to introduce to your friends because you know they just won’t get it. And it’s not like you haven’t tried before via mixtapes, playing the music at a low-key get-together, or by loaning out an album. Nevertheless, it’s difficult to explain to people why you enjoy that certain band/sound and it frustrates you because you want to share your affection with others. You begin to wonder if fans of Bertolt Brecht or Philip Glass had the same frustrations when introducing these new artists to friends.
With the release of Hello Voyager, Evangelista, the musical vehicle of Carla Bozulich (Geraldine Fibbers, Ethyl Meatplow, Scarnella), has entered into similar territory in that, while the music is undeniably brilliant from a compositional standpoint, this is not an album that will be cheerily passed amongst friends. The time signatures seemingly warble and shift like tectonic plates on the West Coast, while the atypical vocalizations make the listener a bit woozy with the alternating whispers and shrieks. However, it is the blissfully eccentric instrumentation on Hello Voyager that is most striking, in that it’s replete with rich sounds and textures. Carla is joined by members of A/Thee Silver Mt. Zion to create tricky patches of minimalist electronica that mix with freak-folk constructions, only to serve as a beautiful backdrop to Bozulich’s raw, passionate, bluesy croons. With tracks like “Lucky Lucky Luck” and “Truth Is Dark Like Outer Space” setting the stage for the majestic, album-ending 12-minute freak-out “Hello, Voyager!”, this is not an album for the musically faint-at-heart. Just don’t be afraid to share it with your more ambitious and adventurous friends.
-- Adam P. Newton [March 26, 2008]
