Parasol Records : Labels : Mud : Absinthe Blind : Rings

Absinthe Blind - Rings

Artist: Absinthe Blind Title: Rings Catalog#: Mud-CD-052 Price: $10.00	Tracks on this CD:
	The Break (It's Been There All This Time)
	Shields
	To Forgive Your Enemies
	Bands 1
	Inside My Mirror
	Walls Covered In Hope
	Do You Know What You Mean To Me
	The Dreamers Song
	Ease the Curtains Down
	Brave
	She Saves/Now I'm Where I Need To Be
	Bands 2

It's sad to say that Rings is the swan song for this beloved Champaign-Urbana band who made audieneces swoon for the past few years. The band were easily one of the town's most popular bands of the past 20 years that I have been a resident here. But not to worry, the band members are all continuing to follow their hearts musically and have already launched a variety of side-projects such as Headlights (early versions of Headlights went by various names including Enemies, Enemy, Orphan, and Orphans), Cortisol, The Beauty Shop, and Triple Whip. The break-up notwithstanding, you couldn't ask for a finer farewell than the band's heralded Rings.

Absinthe makes the heart grow fonder...

Their 5th album - as has been the case with all of the band’s albums - is another giant leap forward. A hugely cinematic and earthshakingly epic collection of songs, Rings shows the next step in the band’s evolution and comes highly recommended to fans of dramatic, dynamic, atmospheric rock a la The Doves, Radiohead, and Antarctica, dusted with a bit of Bjork and Sinead O’Connor. This is a band whose star is about to reach supernova status...

The follow-up to Absinthe Blind’s most recent album, the critically acclaimed Everyday Separation, is bolstered by upper-rung songwriting and arranging within the band, and the recording skills and influence of Matt Talbott (Centaur/Hum), Chicago sound-shaman Keith Cleversley (Mercury Rev/Flaming Lips/Spiritualized/The Posies/Hum/etc.), and local producer/engineer Jon Pines (Wilco, etc).

*Produced/Engineered by Matt Talbott, Keith Cleversley, and Absinthe Blind
*Mixed by Keith Cleversley

and the critics swoon:

All Music Guide "...a neo-psychedelic epic...glorious sheets-of-sound that recall the most enriching parts of Spiritualized's Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space."

CMJ "…Hauntingly beautiful sonic landscapes… Adam's pipes weave nicely around Erin's soaring voice… Holds the promise that Absinthe Blind can move into the national spotlight… Shows a strong influence from U2 circa The Unforgettable Fire…"

Spin.com “…The ghosts of Morrissey, U2, and Eric Matthews are laid out flat on their collective back…"

Big Takeover "…Male and female vocals harmonize...piercingly beautiful...Elements of Travis and Coldplay creep in… It's a rock record, but it's hard to find the particular rock that's being created...it makes me want to follow the path backwards to hear where (absinthe blind's) depth came from..."

Uncut "Atmosphere is everything, as provided by waves of echoing guitars and shimmering vistas of keyboard. Sixties influences are filtered through a late-80's shoegazing sensibility, eliminating overtly derivative elements. The male-female vocal blend floats ethereally atop their grand art-pop
tableaux..."

Lost At Sea "Considering the fact that it is amazingly complete and robust of sound, influence and scope, not to mention that the band was already a personal favorite of several staff writers, if this album doesn't make the top five of LAS's Best of 2003 list I'll be aghast. Rings is one of the most
breathtaking albums of any genre to be released in the past year and will floor fans of Spiritualized, Saint Etienne, Radiohead, Yo La Tengo, My Bloody Valentine or any other notable band of the past decade. This album is beautiful."

Under the Radar "Absinthe Blind are something of a rarity for an indie-space pop band, in that most of the members are made up of the Fein siblings (Adam, drummer Seth, and sister /keyboardist/vocalist, Erin) along with near family members Tristan Wraight and bassist Brett Sanderson. Hailing from Champaign-Urbana, Illinois, the band has been together for almost seven years and within that time period has produced four, luxuriously gorgeous, effect-heavy albums. Their fifth and most promising album, Rings, just came out a few months ago... Produced by Matt Talbott (Hum) and Keith Cleversley (The Flaming Lips/Spiritualized), Rings is a phenomenal album in the vein of Radiohead's O.K. Computer and the warm, dense beauty of traditional shoegazers, Slowdive. What really sets the band apart, though, is the complex harmonies of Adam and Erin Fein. This brother and sister act brings complex harmonies and emotional profundity rarely seen in the space rock genre."

Adam Fein