At last, Anna Homler has delivered an album that can match her fabulous and highly praised Victo release, Corne de Vache. This collaboration with bassist Steuart Liebig is a perfect match. The man's E-flat contrabass guitar rules the low frequencies, while his bass preparations, simple electronics, and sweeping loops offer a nice complement to Homler's bottomless bag of toys and objects. And, of course, she has the voice of an enchantress, singing in a naturally flowing language only she understands -- somewhere between a casual incantation and an infant's babble. Kelpland Serenades is a set of "live, undubbed improvisations" according to the booklet, which fails to indicate precisely when and where it was recorded. There is a handful of short tracks of one to three minutes in length; they feature the strongest collective improvisations, each musician in perfect communion with the other's own universe. The longer pieces tend to feature a leader. At times it is Liebig's bass loops, as in "Sehnsucht," where Homler barely manages to place a few toy sounds (that is, until the bassist cuts the loops off, letting the singer compose an instant song). Elsewhere, it is Homler's turn to take the center stage, Liebig simply punctuating her phrasing and attempting to influence the overall mood of the piece unfolding. Homler can do wonderful things with toys, be they instruments or cheap electronic gadgets, but one wishes she would sing more on this album. Still, pieces like "Winter Street," "Sidpaho," "Radix Vitae," and the aforementioned "Sehnsucht" (and so many others) will ravish fans of the too-discreet vocalist. And Liebig's performance once more illustrates his versatility. Highly recommended, especially if you already own Macaronic Sines or Corne de Vache and need to hear more from her.
© François Couture /TiVo