Hannah Fury: Through the Gash

Hannah Fury has released a new full length album, Through the Gash.

I bought an early copy, so have now had the CD for about 2 months, which is about how long it takes me to digest a good CD like this one. While listening to Fury’s CD, I thought a lot about the first time I heard Kate Bush’s The Dreaming.

Now, before Hannah breaks into my house and throws me out the window for having compared her to Kate Bush, let me explain. It isn’t that her latest album sounds like The Dreaming, but rather like The Dreaming, Through the Gash is such a rich and dense collection of songs, that it is almost impossible to judge it without listening to it over the course of many weeks.

I have learned that it is very important to CRANK up the volume on this CD. At lower volumes, much of the background music overpowers Hannah’s voice. At louder volumes, however, Fury’s voice and all the layered vocal dubbing starts to become apparent and the true richness and complexity of the songs makes itself known.

Like all great albums, I have a new favorite song every time I listen to it. Right now, “Carousel” might be my favorite. The lyrics and emotional content of the song are what got to me first. My wife finds the song so moving that she asks me to skip it when it comes up in the car.

I think the song contains a good example of what makes Fury’s music special. For about 5 seconds at about the :55” second mark and then for about 15 seconds at the 3’:12” mark, a very high pitched banshee-like vocal track pops in and out. It is such a small piece of the song, but its inclusion makes the entire thing work brilliantly. Few musicians would take the time to add something so minor. The fact that Fury did add such a small detail is exactly why I love her music so much, and why I am so mad that she is not a more well known musician.

If, like me, you are tired of buying CDs that contain music that you grow sick of after 2-3 listens, you owe it to yourself to check out Hannah Fury.

This is a completely biased review. I own all Fury’s CD’s and am currently wearing a Mellow Traumatic t-shirt. Also, you too should give Snook a listen. Like Fury, they trascend their genre and should appeal to all music fans.

Wednesday August 29, 2007