Josephine Foster – Blood Rushing
Many may not know that Foster trained as an opera singer,
but when you hear the diverse and unique delivery on ‘Blood Rushing’, you will
not be surprised. Foster manages to create a chaotic sound that always seems to
make sense. How? We’re not quite sure, and therein lies the beauty of this
record. At times it will leave your brain frazzled but her ability to master
classical US folk rock traditions always manages to keep the melody leading the
narrative and as a result, enjoyment levels remain high.
Album opener ‘Waterfall’ is some of the most distinctive pop
music heard in a long time. The combination of the long lost hippy tones of
Linda Thompson with a 1930’s broadcast voice is inspiring and will hook you
immediately. The accompanying guitars are reminiscent of Real Estate’s
‘Municipality’ but far more immediate, which adds to Foster’s unique intensity
and oddness.
‘Panorama Wilde’ and ‘Sacred Is Star’ are two contrasting
songs but both show the vastness of Foster’s songwriting ambition. PW will cart
you off to the American wilderness, help you set up camp and leave you with the
optimistic feeling that you can conquer it alone. Meanwhile ‘Sacred Is Star’
offers up a more twisted side to the image of the wilderness Foster previously
created. The acoustic guitar plucking will leave you unsettled and wondering
what lies beyond the darkness, as if the attempted conquering has gone horribly
wrong and left you desolate and without hope. The orchestration which kicks in
half way through has the feel of an evil Pagan ceremony, merely serving to
heighten the sense of dereliction and isolation created in the opening verse. If Nick Cave had a time machine there is every chance he
will be returning to 2005 to add these songs to ‘The Proposition’ official score.
After discussing the vast and the grand, it would be rude to
not to mention the genius simplicity on ‘Child Of God’. ‘Child Of God’is a
spectacular homage to Joni Mitchell, circa ‘Blue’. It is impossible not to visualise
yourself in the summer sunshine of the Eastern Plains of Foster’s home state,
Colorado, drinking a cold beer and watching the world go by.
‘Geyser’ is arguably
the most interesting track on the album. As an opening 10 seconds go to a song,
you’ll be hard pushed to find a more insane 10. We’re not even sure what is
making the noises but if Hitchcock or Kubrick were alive today, they would be
using this intro to psychologically disturb audiences. When the guitars kick in,
you’ll be forgiven for thinking Mark E Smith is about to sing. What you get
instead is Foster mashing up her opera singing and love of Northern US folk
rock to splendid effect.
Meanwhile the track ‘Blood Rushing’ is yet another slice of
progressive yet loving folk music. The violin solo conjures up a wrath of
morbidity in this tale of embarrassment. Foster retreats to her operatic past
in the climax of the song and the lyrics become indistinguishable except the
line “I begin to begin again”. If you read up on the history of Foster, this
lyric sums her up perfectly. She struggled when training as an opera singer,
often unsure what type she was. Well, she has begun again and with glorious
results we hasten to add. Blood Rushing is one of 2012’s must listens without a
shadow of a doubt.
