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ANOTHER COUNTRY

Mermaid Kiss

Crossover Prog


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Mermaid Kiss Another Country album cover
4.33 | 13 ratings | 2 reviews | 31% 5 stars

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Studio Album, released in 2012

Songs / Tracks Listing

1. Frontier (1:20)
2. Circles Of Fire (5:37)
3. Interlude No.1 For Cor Anglais And Piano: The Appalachian Mountains (1:45)
4. Dust Bowl Bride (4:47)
5. Rhonda And The Paper Crane (4:57)
6. Interlude No.2 For Cor Anglais And Piano: The Allegheny Mountains (1:08)
7. L.A. Aria (4:10)
8. Scissored Ground (4:12)
9. Ghost Rider (3:42)
10. This Trail Of Tears (2:42)
11. Comes And Goes (3:01)
12. Interlude No.3 For Cor Anglais And Piano: The Black Hills (0:57)

Total Time: 38:18

Line-up / Musicians

- Evelyn Downing / vocals and flute
- Wendy Marks / flute, cor anglais, oboe, recorder and harmony vocals
- Jamie Field / acoustic guitar
- Pete West / basses and harmony vocals
- Colin Henney / keyboards
- Steve White / drums

Gues musicians:
- Richard Northwood / bass (8)
- M.J. Gray / Newsreader (5)

Releases information

Release date: October 15, 2012
Label: Self released
Format: Digital (Available through their CD Baby page: http://www.cdbaby.com/cd/mermaidkiss2)

Thanks to progshine for the addition
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MERMAID KISS Another Country ratings distribution


4.33
(13 ratings)
Essential: a masterpiece of progressive rock music(31%)
31%
Excellent addition to any prog rock music collection(31%)
31%
Good, but non-essential (31%)
31%
Collectors/fans only (8%)
8%
Poor. Only for completionists (0%)
0%

MERMAID KISS Another Country reviews


Showing all collaborators reviews and last reviews preview | Show all reviews/ratings

Collaborators/Experts Reviews

Review by kev rowland
SPECIAL COLLABORATOR Honorary Reviewer
4 stars Mermaid Kiss started back in 2000 when Evelyn Downing (vocals, harmony vocals, flute) and Jamie Field (acoustic guitar) met in a studio, and decided to form a songwriting partnership. Over the years they have used different musicians, and even a different singer while Evelyn completed her degree, but this is their last album together as Evelyn is moving on while Jamie is going to be continuing with the band. This album is the culmination of their 'American Images' project, and is full of Americana and in some ways is very English in feel and in others not at all. They were joined here by Wendy Marks (flute, cor anglais, oboe, recorder, harmony vocals), Pete West (acoustic, electric and bass guitars, harmony vocals), Colin Henney (keyboards) and Steve White (drums), and the result is a very special album indeed. I have managed to play this in the car with both my 15 year old daughter and my wife present at different times to no complaints, which is high praise indeed given what they normally think of the music I write about. That is down to the match of Evelyn's vocals, which come across as a mix of Talis Kimberley, Cath Mundy and Judie Tzuke, with wonderful instrumentation. It is very layered and complex yet is also simple in its' approach, with the vocals very much at the front. I can play "Rhonda and the Paper Crane" all day as the combination of the story that is told with the music and vocals just seems 'right'. No more, and no less than that. There are a few short interludes where piano and cor anglais combine in a harmony that is reflective and full of emotion, and again they work extremely well indeed.

I can honestly say that I have played this album far more than I usually do before writing about it, and it is certainly worth investigation if you enjoy wonderful female vocals with powerful songs. For more details on how to download this and their other albums then visit the site at www.mermaidkiss.co.uk

Review by ProgShine
COLLABORATOR Honorary Collaborator
5 stars Mermaid Kiss is an English band that was formed in 2000 by Jamie Field (acoustic guitars) and Evelyn Downing (vocals). Another Country (2012) is their 3rd full length album and they also have an EP released.

In 2009 I interviewed the band for my old Progshine website and they were working on a new project called 'American Images'. Time passed without me realizing and in October 2012 I remembered, out of the blue, about the band and went to their website to see what was the news. To my surprise Another Country (2012) had just been released, so I sent an e-mail to Jamie that gave me a download code for the album a week later or so. Time passed again, many personal changes, but Another Country (2012) was always in my cell phone to be played over and over again.

The band that recorded the album was, of course, the couple Evelyn Downing (vocals and flute) and Jamie Field (acoustic guitars). But they also had Wendy Marks (flute, cor anglais, oboe, recorder and harmony vocals), Pete West (acoustic and electric guitars, bass guitars and backing vocals), Colin Henney (keyboards) and Steve White (drums and percussion) in their line-up.

Another Country (2012) is, in fact, an old project that was pushed aside for many years. In 2008 the band decided to finally finish it. The album then took four years to be completed but unfortunately it was only released in Digital formats. Also have in mind that Another Country (2012) isn't a pure Prog Rock album. Mermaid Kiss has never been completely on that path anyway. But you'll find many interesting Prog moments like in 'This Trail Of Tears'. Although neither Jamie nor Evelyn went to the USA, the fantastic images the country always projected into people's minds made them write the album anyway. It ended up being a wonderful, beautiful and kind of melancholic album.

'Frontier' starts the album, a short intro and you can already feel what's coming. Another Country (2012) is in majority an acoustic album, Americana style. Commanded by acoustic guitars, flutes, piano and the touching Evelyn vocals, Mermaid Kiss evokes images and possible situations and wishes. Although the album is mainly acoustic, the band was smart enough to add many electric guitar solos by Pete West. They also recorded many harmony vocals in the songs.

The main songs on Another Country (2012) are 'Circles Of Fire', 'Dust Bowl Ride', 'Rhonda And The Paper Crane', 'L.A. Aria', 'Scissored Ground', 'Ghost Rider', 'This Trail Of Tears' and 'Comes And Goes'. In the middle of the songs, creating the scene, we also have some small interludes.

Unfortunately, Mermaid Kiss is not a very known band and Another Country (2012) went out a bit unnoticed. Which is a big mistake. The band achieved something very rare nowadays, made the music that touches you, that touches your heart, not just a technical display of musicianship or another sequence of notes that you've listened to many times before. Another Country (2012) is an album that you should listen to many times and savor it calmly.

Evelyn decided that this would be her last album with the band as she's leaving them amicably. Jamie will keep writing and keep recording with the band, which he should do. But before they do that, don't waste your time and go for Another Country (2012), a superb piece of music!

(Originally posted on progshine.net)

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