Cobweb Strange - Seamless Selections

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Cobweb Strange - Seamless Selections

Artist:	Cobweb Strange
Title:	Seamless Selections
Label:	Genterine Records CPR-1004
Length(s):	6? minutes
Year(s) of release:	2002
Month of review:	[09/2003]

Line up

Wade Summerlin - bass, acoustic guitar, vocals
Holly Williams - electric guitar on 3, 6, 8
Brandi Byrum - keyboards and backing vocals on 3, 6, 8
Soumen Talukder - drums on 3, 6, 8
Keith Rinehart - electric guitar on 1, 4, 7
Derik Rinehart - drums and backing vocals on 1, 2, 4, 5, 7, 9
Jonathan Burke - electric guitar and backing vocals on 2, 5, 9
Trevin Broad - cello and keyboards on 7, backing vocals on 9

Tracks

1)	Sometimes The Shine Just Fades Away	10.34
2)	First	4.05
3)	Tea For The Sleepless	6.37
4)	I'd Give Everything	4.24
5)	Astral Projection	7.09
6)	Giant	5.14
7)	The Color Of	6.12
8)	Pure	11.50
9)	Clarity's Advent	4.38

Summary

This album is a compilation of the three Cobweb Strange albums The Temptation Of Successive Hours from 1996, Sounds From The Gathering from 1998 and A Breath Of October from 2002, all reviewed for this website.

The music

For the songs from the 1996 and 2002 album, you can better refer to those reviews. Since Roberto did the other one, I can say a few words about those tracks.

Generally, the music of Cobweb Strange is laid back with plaintive, sometimes flat and indifferent vocals. The latter is less the case on their most recent effort, A Breath Of October. Musically, the bass can be quite dominant, and it can be quite jazzy as well. The later the music, the more proggy is becomes was my impression.

Opener Sometimes The Shine Just Fades Away is a long track with jazzy and even some surf undertones, some nice tension rich passages (guitar and bass) rather flat sounding vocals (this is also a production thing, the recording sounds very 'live' and the vocals do not come out as clearly as they could have). The drummer is quite a busy body here, towards the end, and then that guitar drone. Very nice.

Acoustic strumming opens I'd Give Everything. The bass is also prominent enough playing the same melody. The vocals sound a bit sixties, quite melodic. Lyrically this is a sad, depressing track. Washes of cymbals and fast drums are the only addition to the strumming guitar and the bass. That makes this song a rather straightforward.

The last track I shall consider is The Color Of. The opening is a bit in the style of Iron Maiden's Remember Tomorrow, until the repetitive guitar line sets in. The overal feel is one similar to early goth bands. This has to do as well with the low vocal drone of Summerlin. The whispered vocal inserts work very well. Atmospheric stuff, but also monotonous.

Conclusion

Although this album might serve as a primer into the music of the band, I rate A Breath Of October higher than this compilation and not all the best tracks from that album are present here (although two are). My impression is that you could better try that third album first and then move back in time to the second (a promising long track of that one on here as well).