Review: Mr. Gnome - The Heart of a Dark Star
By Sarah Weingarten, Contributor
[El Marko; 2014]
Rating: 6/10
Key Tracks: “Rise & Shine,” “Light,” Odyssey”
The Heart of a Dark Star is quite a melodramatic title, but Mr. Gnome’s second album is definitely worth a listen. The album is more ethereal than dark. The Cleveland duo, Nicole Barille and Sam Meister, have created a cohesive, fluid and raw album.
The most interesting aspect about The Heart of a Dark Star is how tracks ebb and flow into one another seamlessly; this is an album that should not be put on shuffle. Barille’s airy voice is swept up in guitars, organs and drums, which creates a lucid, dreamy sound.
“Dark Star” is essentially an interlude to “Rise & Shine” that is heavily filled with guitar picking and a tambourine. But the bridge and lightness of Barille’s voice keeps the song from sounding too podunk farm town. Also, the acoustic guitar picking slowly transitions to electric, which gives the song tremendous depth.
“Rise & Shine” starts off with high-pitched coos that sound like whistling. The chorus is punchy, but the bridge is the best part. It’s choppy and breaks up the song nicely and Barille’s soft crooning voice develops a bite. A bite is necessary with lyrics about coming in and getting who you want: “Rise and shine / I'm coming to you every day and night / I'm going to bring you love / Call me out / I'm going to see you while you twist and shout / I'm going to bring you love.”
On the flip side, “Light” is a softly chilling song. The Heart of a Dark Star is mostly filled with dreamy windswept tracks, but Meister’s faint, pulsing piano pushes the song to be the darkest. Minimal instrumentals throws Barille’s eerie voice front and center while she gently but confidently sings, “ Now we come back from the dark side / Tell me you wanna fly / Can you get down real low for awhile / Maybe for another mile?”
Mr. Gnome possesses an off-kilter indie sound, refreshing especially because indie rock is being so commercialized. The Heart of a Dark Star is a great album, but it’s just too long. It doesn’t need to have 14 tracks; “Fools” and “The Sea” could be cut from the album and it wouldn’t make a difference.
Mr. Gnome just needs to become more cutthroat when it comes to what song stays and goes. But definitely listen to The Heart of a Dark Star, not on shuffle, and get reeled into Mr. Gnome’s effervescent individuality.
