A Silver Mt. Zion - Born Into Trouble As The Sparks Fly Upward (CD 2001)

I would imagine most people, like me, will come to this CD through first enjoying the music of Godspeed, but Silver Mt Zion are no mere second rate spin-off.

The band conjure their music using strings, piano and vocals but they achieve their own musical identity. When it works it is gorgeous: the opening track is a beautiful piano piece; ‘Could Have Moved Mountains’ starts from minimal instrumentation and gently builds to a wonderful melody and ‘The Triumph of Our Tired Eyes’ is a superb closer. On this track Ephrim’s fractured vocals lend the lyrics real emotional depth.

In places the focus is not so strong. Strings meander somewhat aimlessly in ‘Built Then Burnt’ and ‘Tho You Are Gone..’ and the spoken word piece on ‘This Gentle Hearts..’ annoys me slightly every time I hear it.

However, the band also have the ability to surprise; ‘Take These Hands..’ is an urgent, scraping violin piece with tortured vocals which arrives with a shock from the gentle preceeding track.

To summarise, this CD is full of varied, thought-provoking, interesting and challenging music.