Abney Park

Are you open-minded?
Do you wonder what the world would be like if the Hindenburg disaster wasn't blown out of proportion?
Do you like movies like SKY CAPTAIN AND THE WORLD OF TOMORROW or games like BIOSHOCK?
Was the airship your favorite method of transportation in the FINAL FANTASY series?
Does the word STEAMPUNK ring a bell?

If you answered yes to any of those questions above then you should seriously give this album a try. The music is very steampunk-influenced. For example, there are songs about airship pirates, dolls and crazy doctors.

A few of my favorites . . .

AIRSHIP PIRATE--The album gets off to a good start with this song about Airship Pirates that are (to paraphrase) more a danger to themselves than to others. Starts and ends with the buzzing sound of engines to put you in that flying mood. Has a very catchy chorus.

THE EMPORER'S WIVES--Hmmmm, this one is hard to explain, but it creates a soft atmosphere. The lyrics are a bit hard to hear but tell an interesting story. Lots of drums and electronic sounds.

SLEEP ISABELLA--My favorite track on the whole CD. Starts with a pleasing drum and string intro before going into male vocals with occasional female vocals in the background. Has loud and clear lullaby lyrics with a foot-tapping beat.

SHE--Starts off very mysterious-sounding, like you're walking into a dusty attic that hasn't had a visitor for the past 100 years. Very good lyrics.

THIS DARK AND TWISTY ROAD--The acoustic background on this song is really good. The song is slightly faster-paced and more upbeat than the songs before it. All of these tracks I've mentioned so far are really good to chill out to.

So there are 5 out of 11 songs on this CD that I liked. Not all the songs are slow and dreamy, but those are the types of songs that attracted me the most. There are some tracks that rely more on the electronic/industrial sound.
If you get a chance there are some awesome Youtube videos of this band playing live. They all dress up as if they were really airship pirates, too.
The CD comes with a booklet, but no lyrics at all. It always disappoints me when a band has good lyrics but never bothers to put them in a booklet.
While not the same type of music, you should definitely try the somewhat similar ROMANOVS who do a Neo-Victorian sort of music. In fact, if ABNEY PARK could somehow get Morgan Kibby to sing for them, I think the band would be the better for it.

Abney Park finds their niche and their footing.

In the last few years, Abney Park has transformed their sound and their band from Gothic-Darkworld-Industrial experiment into something that is more interesting, more tuneful and more sophisticated.

Group leader Robert Brown calls the reformulated Abney Park a "Steampunk" band, but that literary term really doesn't adequately describe the feat that Abney Park has pulled off.

Just as Steampunk literature allows authors to create a melange of Victorian aesthetics and contemporary situations and values, Abney Park is helping to define Steampunk music as a harmonious blending of Victorian aesthetics and instrumentation with contemporary musical styles and technology. And while they're at it, they're helping to define a visual Steampunk style as well, through their costuming, stage-craft and story telling.

In Lost Horizons, Abney Park blends acoustic instrumentation, electronics and haunting vocals to create a sound that is evocative of P.T. Barnum - if P.T. Barnum had a time-traveling steam-powered Air-ship with a crew of rogue musicians from a world that never was.

Try it. You'll like it.

Abney Park is awesome. Their music is a blend of many genres but it has a distinctive and well polished sound. The only band that writes music fitting of the sci-fi genre of steampunk. No that does not mean they are a "punk" band.

My daughter has just gotten into steampunk, and she started playing Abney Park a few days ago. Now I can't get enough of this band. I'm very picky about the kind of music I listen to, but after only a few days of hearing Abney Park's songs, I can easily say they're one of my new favorite groups - and if they ever tour near enough for us to go to one of their concerts, we'll both go in full steampunk regalia!

I heard about this band when I recently became interested in the steampunk genre of fiction, art, fashion, etc. Sometimes bands that cater to a certain group or spend a lot of effort trying to fit a certain mold end up not making very good music. Abney park however makes some really great music regarless of what they look like. It's kind of a unique mix of trance beats with interesting guitar, violin, and keyboard melodies. Many of the songs sound very unique and original, but they still have that catchiness that will make them stick in your head all day.

The fact that they are very into steampunk culture is just a bonus (or minus depending on your preferences) that make them interesting to watch while listening.

Every few months you discover a new band that is just so amazingly good.
This is the latest for me. Can't... stop... listening...
BTW, the track listing is wrong, this album also has the song Stigmata Martyr.

I was surprised no one had reviewed this album. It's amazing. When I first heard it I described it to a friend as sounding like pagan trance music. It sounds a bit like Ian Anderson from Jethro Tull is singing the main vocals and Lisa Gerrard from Dead Can Dance is singing backup, over a bed of nice, trance-like grooves. There really are no words to adequately describe this album.

If you like trance, buy this. You will not be disappointed.

When you go to actually listen to this cd, you simply need to really listen to it. Or just scratch the surface. Thats what I found special about this. There are so many levels to the music. Which leave you free to dig as deep or as little as you wish. Here is a good example. Thornes and Brambles has a very solid slow melogy that leaves one to start dancing slowly. Or if you listen to the lyrics.. it changes the song to a fight song in a sense.. Absolutely nothing over powers anything throughout the work. You can hear everything seperately but in the same way, they mesh and become one sound.
Hope this helps
Michael

I liked the CD, but the files are saved as "cda" files. That means you can't copy the CD to your Ipod or other MP3 player. That limits the amount of time I'll listen to the CD, and seriously makes me consider purchasing other Abney Park disks. Which is a shame, because I like them.