We Walked in Song (Badman)
There are some artists who you never want to change...you don't want their music to "evolve" or to become "more mature." The Innocence Mission have been putting out some of the best tranquil rock music in the past 15 years. Their music never has been immature, it came evolved, and although their sound hasn't changed much for the past 4 releases, each record stands on its own and needs to remain as its own chapter. Their recent release, We Walked in Song, is a solid new chapter in The Innocence Mission's catalogue, offering those meek, lush, sincere vocals from Karen Peris along with the modern folk-rock, singular, comforting sounds that have always defined them.
This isn't to say The Innocence Mission's sound hasn't changed during the past 2 decades. Umbrella and Glow contained a more punchy, early 90's-type vibe and are still their finest releases to date -along with 2003's Befriended, which is much more stripped down like Song. But as I said before, this record is solid and it won't disappoint long-time or rookie listeners. The strongest sequence of tracks is 3-5, including the most memorable songs, "Into Brooklyn, Early in the Morning" and "Lake Shore Drive." Just as with their previous records, the lyrics are centered around the basic nature of mankind as it relates to their own experience("Brotherhood of Man") wrapped around in hope and nostalgia("Song for Tom", "A Wave is Rolling"). As Karen once said, the "innocence mission" is more about a place than a journey. And every time you listen to their records you can go to that place, where worries disappear and hope carries its flame.
hear: Brotherhood of Man, Love That Boy, Into Brooklyn,Early in the Morning, Lake Shore Drive, Since I Tell You My Every Day
www.theinnocencemission.com
www.badmanrecordingco.com
