Joan of Arc

Presents Orchard Vale CD

Record Label October 16, 2007

On the Orchard Vale Soundtrack, it sounds a bit like Joan of Arc pulled out their box of eclectic instruments with an everything-but-the-kitchen sink attitude and entertained themselves with a stoned jamboree in a haunted barn-studio. Jews harp, harpsichord, tympani, triangle, ukulele, organ pipe flute, violin, piano, mbira, guimbra, flute, double reed, castanets, saz, and ukulele are among the many instruments included in the mix, along with household items like rulers, bowls of water, and duct tape. Everything's extremely slow and minimal, with a monotone droning and sparse notes which may lend themselves to a mood-shifting, interesting backdrop for an eerie movie, but on their own, they're more strange and unnerving than listenable; kind of like a John Cage composition played by John Cale. It's hard to imagine an appropriate moment to play a soundtrack like this. But if you're looking to have your hair on end, perhaps while reading a Stephen King novel, this might do the trick. The tension builds to a horrifying level in "Scene 72," the only song with vocals, when a tiny voice narrates the story of a little girl whom was scarred by a "strange kind of brutal world" over a drum solo and a lone cello note uneasily sawing. It's most unsettling, to say the least.

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