Album, Single and EP Reviews


 

 

  The Corridor by Youri Blow


The Corridor cover art

Artist: Youri Blow
Title: The Corridor
Catalogue Number: No catalogue number
Review Format: CD
Release Year: 2010



Hailing from Brittany in the northwest of France, you might fancy Youri Blow to be some sort of old-fashioned chanteur. Try again. Taking a spiritualistic approach to Delta Blues, this well-travelled individual gives the listener plenty of food for thought on “The Corridor”. World music? Could well be.

“Ever Love” immediately takes on a foreign vibe, reeling you towards a faraway place. Some mysterious chanting also plays its part in welcoming the listener into the album.

Throughout the album, there seems a recurring theme - that of water. From “Muddy Streams” through “Strange History” and “Salmon Dreams” to name but three, water is mentioned or heard while worldly sounds - all within a bluesy realm - swamp the listener taking them towards a state of definite ease. Easy listening? Not quite. “Intent listening” is perhaps a better phrasing.


Further ambient sounds cloud “Tsaagan Sar” (named for the Mongolian celebration of the lunisolar New Year) and “Khovsgol Lake” (a Monogolian lake bordering Russia), both instrumental tracks which appear to be efforts to portray the event or sight to the listener. Patience is important here, as is a lucid imagination.

Overall, “The Corridor” takes on a rather explorative nature, a rather uncommon but nonetheless enthralling idea for an album. Although not the easiest album to listen through, Blow should still be applauded for achieving what must have been an incredibly difficult album to compose. Worth a listen if you have a mind seeking adventure. Très interessant.
 


www.youri-blow.com
Reviewer:
Review Date: November 12 2010