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Beacons is the second full-length release from Ohbijou. Originally the
vehicle for Canadian songstress Casey Mecija, the band has expanded
to include a wide variety of instrumentalists and at least one sibling in
the form of her younger sister, Jennifer. And, as befits a sisterly
collaboration, the subsequent output here takes the form of a very feminine,
even girly album.
Casey M is gifted with a warm, intimate, conspiratorial grin of a voice -
the band's greatest strength, and one that is showcased with varying levels
of success throughout the album. On sweet, tuneful tracks like opener Intro
To Seasons and Eloise And The Bones it really takes flight, and the listener
is drawn into its honeyed depths. At its most intimate and unadorned, as on
Black Ice, it is also a clear, articulate and involving means of
communication with the listener.
It almost seems a shame, then when the
backing singing joins in - often taking the form of sweet, wistful sighs of
the "ooh" and "ahh" variety (which feature, in some form, on at least half
of the songs: Wildfires, Black Ice, Cliff Jumps, New Years, We Lovers,
Memoriam). Often, this ends up feeling a little surplus to requirements -
gilding the lily, perhaps?
The overall mood and feel is folk-flecked (banjos and
accordions appear, and strings are fairly ubiquitous) and pastoral. There
is a marked lyrical focus on the seasons - particularly Winter, which is
evoked in several songs ("Winter brings / Peculiar things" from Cannon
March; "Winter sleeps in trees" from Eloise And The Bones).
Another
trope is the moon, which features in a poetic lyrical extract from We
Lovers: "The moon falls in lines of silver / Reflected light on the still
water / Bring me life in a million colours / Bring me love like no other".
Another arresting lyric is Thunderlove's "I shout "timber" 'cos / I am
lumber falling down". Both are typical of much else on the album in their
juxtaposition of nature with a slightly wistful emotional mood.
Quite charming as a lot of this is, the pacing of the album does ebb and
flow. Tracks like Black Ice, Cliff Jumps (which follows it in the running
order), Make It Gold and We Lovers don't have strong enough melodies or
striking enough instrumentation to make them memorable, unlike those that
are most successful (Intro To Season, Cannon March with its grand piano
introduction, Eloise And The Bones and the stand-out Thunderlove, where the
stately string interjections lend drama at key points). At such weaker
points something a little more than the - albeit wonderful - vocal is needed
to keep things moving along.
This, then, is music as an appealing, extremely easy-on-the-ear warm
aural bath. Not one to challenge or confront the listener, despite the
occasional "mild peril" lyrical themes (which don't ever actually end up
sounding too perilous), it can be added to the treasured and valuable ranks
of albums into which listeners can immerse and lose themselves for a
while.
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