Rating:   8 Ratings     12345  

L’Altra Different Days Hefty Records

      The album begins gently with "Sleepless Night," as the welcome of a distanced alarm whirrs, then fades, into the tender voice of Anderson. A striking piano takes precedence over the song, and with a relaxing, slight inflection of jazz, it builds up to full beauty. Anderson is the female equivalent to Starsailor and Doves, but with a much more subdued musical layout.

      Costa enters in "It Follows Me Around"-- an utterly brilliant and joyous track disguised underneath a contemporary setup. Over a gentle tempo combined with a soft backbeat and violins, the duo are at their best when they sing together. As much as Jack and Meg White (The White Stripes) have going for them right now, they can’t compete with this type of composure.

      "Better Than Bleeding" has a rhythm that parallels with that of a heartbeat, and that alone brings a sense of personal understanding to the track. Included is a vocal hush just careful enough to evoke feelings of lasting romance and bliss. Painfully elegant.

      L’Altra is a reverie of still movies and the understated purity of the world placed with a lull of spiritual mastery. There even seems to be a correlation between the group and The Corrs-- and when Costa takes the lead-- a sultry blend of masculinity similar to that of Pete Yorn. Some of the tracks are dusted with slight techno beats that are just enough to complete the right places in the songs without overshadowing it. Costa and Anderson experiment with call-and-answer singing, and at times they sing with each other, proving they are the yin to each other’s yang. They each have an equal opportunity to shine and fulfill the potential for every song.

      Be ready for "There Is No"-- a track that contains barely any music whatsoever, except that of a very quiet piano. A bold move to sing acapella, it is done with confidence and nothing less than the rest of the tracks could provide. A feat well finished, "There Is No," is soothing and graceful. A song to wash over and engulf you so gradually that it’ll go unnoticed until the very end. The title track and "Morning Disaster" are the gems here. The former combines various everyday sound effects-- pages turning, doors opening, the jangle of keys-- with a tribal-like sound that tells a story, even despite the lyrics. The latter involves the duo switching off at every other stanza, complimenting each other’s vocals and once again proving that both voices together are the key ingredient to L’Altra’s elegance.

      "Different Days" is an album with immaculate timing and precision. It’s refined innocence and wholesome lyrics are as equally thought-provoking as they are relatable. A magnificently bittersweet answer to a consummated romance.

-Arie Musil 03/25/05