However, Fink’s past efforts are not quite the same as her solo album. As the cover art would suggest, Fink has done a little bit of traveling. Actually, that’s an understatement; she has spent time in Haiti, India, and Cambodia, absorbing cultural influences, and turning a new spiritual leaf in her lyrical musings.
Now It’s Overhead producer Andy LeMaster accompanies Fink on this venture, as she strays from the leisurely strolls of the Azure Ray sound for a somewhat shadowy blend of pop. Invisible Ones at times slightly resembles an Enya album, especially on the tracks “Blind Asylum” and “Miracle Worker,” however the album remains unique enough to stand out, with chilling piano/string arrangements, ghostly choirs, and tinge of Eastern meditation, and a subtle washover of gothic grunge.
The best parts of “Invisible Ones,” however, lie in the lyrics. Fink has absorbed a variety of situations, based on her travels, and has refined them into poetry. Take this line from “Les Invisibles”: “And as my weathered hands scrapped and coloured / With years of pain of the brokenhearted / Frame their plates of whitened bone / You take no note of your one presenter”.
Altogether, “Invisible Ones” strides forward with hope and dreams, but may be misunderstood by the majority of the fans accustomed to the Azure Ray sound, before they fully experience the mysterious obscurity Orenda Fink wraps herself within.
Top photo by Tony Bonacci; courtesy of Orenda Fink
Orenda Fink
“Invisible Ones”
(Saddle Creek)
Released August 23, 2005
4 stars art
2.5 entertainment
