Part 3 of a series on Havalina. Part 1
, Part 2.
Download the zip file off Matt Wignall's website
Havalina had just left Tooth & Nail Records and started their own label, Jackson-Rubio, so this was their first completely independent album. Thus, it was their first album to go out of print. When this happened, the peoples Havalina were gentlemen and put the album up on their website for free download. (And after Havalina let the domain on their website expire, Matt hosted the zip on his own website.) That was how I got my copy.
Which means I don't actually have a copy of the liner notes from this album, making it a little harder to update the roster. But I can reasonably infer the following: None of the band members from the last album left, and Erick Diego Nieto joined the band, playing violin and percussion. Which brings the total number of percussionists up to four. Four of the seven band members play percussion. Also, either during or right after this album, Lori Hoopes married Jeff Suri (as the next album's liner notes credited her as Lori Suri).
Anyway, this album was a weird experiment. Havalina wanted to do an East European folk-influenced thing. Normal people who want to do East European folk-influenced things would listen to East European folk or collaborate with East European folk musicians. But Havalina are not normal people. They decided to read about East European folk music, then tried to incorporate that into their own hodgepodge of rock and jazz. So the results aren't particularly authentic folk, but they're fascinating nonetheless. Also, this was Havalina's first album to have more rock than jazz. Also also, this is their best album.
As mentioned before, I obtained this album as a package of mp3's from the interweb; as a result, the first time I listened to the album, all the tracks were completely out of order. Realizing this mistake, I resorted the songs into the proper album order... and then realized that I didn't like that order any better. It sticks all the fast and/or upbeat tracks at the beginning of the album, and all the slow and/or downer tracks at the end. Which felt less like a logical progression and more like a particularly cruel bait-and-switch.
So I made my own track order. With blackjack! And hookers! And I've listened to the album this way so many times that sometimes I forget that this isn't the official order. So this is how I listen to this album:
Tundra: More white reggae. White Russian reggae? I really like the vibes on this one.
Kaliningrad: A fast, rocking instrumental. Like surf rock, if surf rock had violins.
Red and Blue (in St. Petersburg): A bluesy jazz song.
Traffic Jam: Noise. Not a song, but a fight between the violin, the double bass, and the various percussion. Entertaining noise all the same.
Changes and Forms: Rather Tom Waits-ian, with a piercing flute and the tempo changing from lethargic to frantic. A labyrinth of dimly-lit alleys and twisting stairways.
The Lovesick Blues of a Young Soviet Proletariat: Even more ominous. Enjoy that flute, because this is its last appearance.
Siberian Safari: Music suggestive of a jungle. A Russian jungle. A Russian jungle? Yes, a Russian jungle.
Nathan's Song: Naught but saxes and vocals. Melancholy and strange. Nathan's singing here is definitely a step up from the last album.
Rivers of Russia: The first two and a half minutes are a duet between violin and (prepared?) piano. Then the last four minutes are piano solo. It sounds like it was recorded in the middle of a massive, empty room. This is bleak. This is ashy-grey storm clouds over wind-swept plains. This is the wrath of God. This is not a song to end an album on. What were they thinking?
Total Depravity: So many things depend on context and perspective. The music here could be a total downer, but placed immediately after "Rivers of Russia", it sounds instead like a step back from the edge. As for the lyrics...
Once I have spoken,
now I cover my mouth
I hate myself, I am depraved.In a manner of speaking
I've become so blind
It's a wonder you keep me
It's a wonder I can shineBefore Ararat: An ominous, restless thing.
Winter: Guitar and Lori's voice. The only song in Havalina's entire discography where Lori sings solo. A pity that; she has a lovely voice.
The Sensual Song: They weren't kidding about that title. There's a very slowed-down surf-rock guitar, an electric piano, Matt and Lori singing in unison, and even a sax solo at the end.
Russian Lullaby: More than any other song on the album, this makes me think of Crime and Punishment. Raskolnikov being driven mad by paranoia; looking for a place to hide the stolen money; cutting himself off from his family and friends; considering throwing himself into the river to end it all; playing mind games with Porfiry Petrovich; past and present blurring together. Both in my track listing and the official track listing, this is the penultimate track, so the backing vocals from both Nathan and Lori make this really sound like the musical culmination of everything that came before This is the moment of truth.
Twilight Time: Hell yes. Let's end this thing with a bang. By which I mean, the rockingest surf-rock song on the whole album.
Even the moon has a dark side
with the Earth shining above.
And the light side's bright because it lights up the night
and it points the way back to the one you love.That is how you end an album. That is not track 3 material.
If you only listen to one track then you have no soul. Perhaps listening to "Twilight Time" would help you find a soul.
For part 4 of the Havalina series, click here.
