In Limbo: The Lost Puracane Sessions
Bulletspace Records, 2006
http://www.myspace.com/puracane
REVIEW BY: Vish Iyer
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED: 09/04/2010
With the absence of David Biegel, Puracane lost the lone musician in the band as well as its composer and producer – in short, the musical voice of this duo. But singer Ali Rogers dauntlessly trudged along, not letting the band simply perish in defeat. The result of her solo endeavor is In Limbo: The Lost Puracane Sessions, released six years after the band’s debut Things You Should Leave Alone. In a way, the name of the album might seem befitting for
An outcome of Rogers’ collaborations with a variety of musicians, In Limbo is a hodgepodge, but Rogers appears to have a good control over what goes on in it. There is though, a palpable – if not strong – change in the direction of the music. Unlike the debut, this one doesn’t obsess over a wannabe trip-hop sound. On the whole, this album has a laidback pop mood, and although not as intense, conveys more originality than its predecessor; even the more trip-hop leaning tracks, “7 Seconds” and “Sand,” have a different approach than the trip-hop of the previous disc.
There is a new sense of playfulness in
Along with the positives of this disc of different approaches, there are some negatives, too. While Things You Should… had a monolithic sound, it was also tight. In Limbo, on the other hand, with its assortments, also comes with flabby numbers that are weak and lifeless, like “All In Good Time,” “Everything,” “War Is Over,” and “Another Boy.” With a running time of 72 minutes, In Limbo needs to shed some serious weight.
Puracane is no better or worse as a one-woman project than as a duo. However, it certainly has become more interesting.