While Noe Venable's music is difficult to put in any kind of category for easy cataloging in reviews such as this I will say that her music lives and breathes through her voice and her lyrics. Her delicate voice from the very beginning when it comes at you a capella on the first track called Woods Part of When hypnotizes the listener and immediately draws you into her world. The Summer Storm Journals was written over a 4 year period and recorded in 4 different cities so you begin to see that it is a mixture of different places and different times along with the emotional changes that Noe was going through during these transitions that makes Journals a linear examination of Noe's life over the past 4 years. Combine that with the fax that Noe is currently pursuing graduate studies in literature and you will understand the treat you are in for as you listen to this CD.
The lyrics of The Summer Storm Journals reads more like poetry and seeing as how Noe is a literature major it is no wonder. It is a melding of her interests in music, literature and her willingness to open up her life via her poetry (lyrics) in these songs that makes Journals a spellbinding CD that won't let you stop listening until you reach the last song. This would probably not be a CD that you want to put on in the background as you will want to keep the lyrics that came with the CD handy so that you can ponder them a bit even after the music has faded away.
Even though the lyrics will cause you to stop and think about them and the instrumentation (acoustic and electric guitar, piano, keyboards, violin, cello, marimba, trumpet, bass and drums) will create the atmosphere that is suitable for these lyrics to exist within that is ultimately not what keeps your attention glued to each song as it queues up. Noe's voice is the one common element that ties each of these songs together and moves the listener deeper into the magical environment that is being woven around them. Her soft soprano voice floats around each of these songs and delivers her words to listeners who have been carried away into her world to stay there until the CD stops after track 13 is finished.
While my descriptions of the music have been rather vague it is because her music defies many of the adjectives that one might apply to much of the popular music that makes its way onto the remaining record store shelves or into the download services and that's a good thing. The very fact that the music is unique means that Noe has created something that is not like the hundreds of other releases that are out there. That also means that when you pick up The Summer Storm Journals you will be picking up something you won't find anywhere else and you will be entertained by an individual speaking her thoughts through lyrics that are as distinctive as Noe's music.
If I had to choose a couple of songs that stuck in my mind they would be Woods Part of When, Prayer for Beauty, Sea of Possibility, Ice Dragons and Swim With Me. I'm sure you will find other songs that strike a chord within you but for me those were the songs that kept drawing me back to this CD. To journey with Noe in her music will leave you in a contemplative mood and inspire you to reflect upon what you have heard during the time you played Journals. All in all the Summer Storm Journals is a pleasing experience that has memorable lyrics, original and innovative music and a voice that will be with you long after you move on to other activities during your day. Highly recommended by CEV.
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