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review by Dene Bebbington Indie musician Kori Linae Carothers has debuted with this new agey album containing fourteen songs that all tell a story - a summary of each is included in the liner notes. Incidentally, the liner notes and overall presentation of the physical package is professional and nicely done with a picture of a slightly misty wood. And so, on the road less travelled the listener will be taken through a variety of places in and out of the mind. Roughly speaking this album can be viewed as separated into two parts. The first five tracks are mainly breezy melodies played out over unremarkable rhythms. Perhaps the best piece on this part of the album is "Spanish Dance" where a synthetic Spanish guitar performs a spirited musical dance. From the sixth track onwards the mood generally gets a little more serious and the music takes a good turn towards a more symphonic and dramatic style, the use of string effects rather than rhythms on some tracks certainly improves the overall feel of the music. To again pick on one track I'd have to say that "The Day" is the best piece in this part of the album, written on Sep 11th 2001 it's about the loss of loved ones and conveys that emotion well. An electronic piano sound performs suitably stirring melodies running a gamut of emotions as string effects add poignancy. There are some rough edges in this album; all the songs have been performed on a Korg Workstation and even though this equipment seems to have plenty to offer musically it's obvious that preset tones and rhythms have been used. Several times I could visualise a button being pressed to abruptly turn off a preset rhythm, and some of the melodies, particularly early on in the album, are functional but not very engaging. The Road Less Traveled thus sounds amateurish (without that being meant in a derogatory way), but it also shows promise - Kori is a good musician judging by the few engaging songs she's composed. New age fans may wish to check this album out. |
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