The Places
Absolutely Kosher Records
Portland, Oregon's The Places has mastered the arts of subtle elegance and
understated beauty in a way that few bands can. It all starts with singer Amy
Annelle's quiet ripple of a voice. It's a voice in constant motion, like a rushing river
or a summer breeze or a seagull aloft, but it never misses a step, gliding along with
impeccable grace. The rest of the band follows the lead of her voice with equal assurance.
Annelle accompanies herself on acoustic guitar, while Ryan Stowe adds
a wonderfully expressive electric guitar that is by turns gently muted, fuzzy and brash,
sad and forlorn, and sharply angular. A supporting cast of local Portland musicians fills
out the band with drums, assorted percussion instruments, and mournful dirge-like
strings.
The Places' debut record, The Autopilot Knows You Best, came out on
Absolutely Kosher in 2000. It's an absolute delight: a slow-motion parade of
lyrical ingenuity and moments of surprising beauty intercut by odd, quirky vocal samples
and bits of random noise that somehow work to draw out the music's innate intimacy.
The sweet and sour lament "The Projectionist" and the dense, chiaroscuro "Mission
Impossible," both from that album, illustrate The Places' remarkable talent for
delicate yet tough arrangements and lovely, memorable melodies.
Jeanne Acceturo
last updated:
08/10/01
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